Raptors writing new history free of past embarrassments

TORONTO — It’s aways tempting as a Toronto sports fans to lean into cynicism, especially when it comes to the Raptors.

Every joke is tired after 23 seasons of futility. First, they were the cartoonish Barney franchise, then it was the snowcapped outpost from which stars fled, and recently it became “LeBronto”. For most of their existence, the Raptors were too incompetent to even sniff the playoffs, and in the few instances when they qualified, it only ever ended in catastrophic embarrassment.

It’s no wonder why all the insecurities jumped out after losing Game 1. Never mind that it was clearly a fluke performance by Orlando, that was a prime opportunity to lick old wounds. This franchise just can’t take care of business, Kyle Lowry disappears in the playoffs, Nick Nurse is just a Dwane Casey clone. Panic is not so much rational as it is an identity for Raptors fans. Wallowing is all we know.

The four games that followed, which the Raptors won by a combined 74 points, elicited an entirely new feeling. Toronto reestablished its dominance in Game 2, showed its depth with Pascal Siakam stepping up for a sickly Kawhi Leonard in Game 3, Leonard recovered to destroy the Magic in Game 4, and the Raptors quickly wrapped the series in Game 5 by racing out to a 31-7 lead. The Raptors actually took care of business in the postseason for once, and it felt therapeutic.

That’s the type of performance we haven’t seen from this franchise. They were ruthless, incisive, confident, focused, and operated entirely differently from their predecessors. The stars elevated their games and the supporting cast stepped up. When they had their chance, they took it. And while advancing past the first round is such a minor thing for a supposed championship contender, crushing the Magic was a big deal for a franchise that had never dominated anyone.

Getting past the first round used to be like pulling teeth. The Raptors lined up on the wrong side of the floor and Lowry got blocked at the buzzer of Game 7 in 2014. They came back and got swept in 2015 as the higher seed against a 37-year-old Paul Pierce and a coach who didn’t know how to work a whiteboard.

In 2016, it took a miracle comeback by Norman Powell and Solomon Hill’s unclipped fingernail to squeak past the Pacers. After recruiting Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker at the deadline, the Bucks still took a 2-1 series lead before Powell again saved the franchise with an improbable contribution. And even last season, after democratizing the offense and earning the first seed, Toronto still needed six games to overcome Washington because DeMar DeRozan couldn’t resist hero ball.

To outsiders, it must seem obvious that things changed for the better. After all, Masai Ujiri and Bobby Webster rebuilt the entire roster, from the coaching staff to the players. Leonard and Danny Green are proven championship-caliber contributors, Marc Gasol is a Defensive Player of the Year winner, Nurse oozes with this Midwestern nonchalance, and Siakam reinvented himself as a breakout star. Former narratives should not apply because this is a different team.

But again, it’s hard for most to see past the baggage. Raptors fans not only hope to reach new heights, but there’s also an unspoken expectation for this group to right the wrongs of the past, even though Lowry is the only remaining link. This year’s run isn’t about making the Finals so much as it’s about shedding history and redefining the psyche of the franchise moving forward. In that sense, it’s as much on the fans to get over themselves as it’s about the tangible advancements that this team makes. The two go hand-in-hand, and they’re equally important.

Most of this is lost on the players, especially for the newcomers. Leonard flatly responded “what hump?” when asked about Toronto’s postseason shortcomings before the Magic series. He’s not coming at the postseason with hopes of redemption — he’s just focused on playing to the best of his abilities. The same can be said for Green, Gasol, and even Siakam. Past failures don’t belong to them, and it’s not weighing on their conscience when they take the floor. And as fans, it’s only fair that we suspend our cynicism and give them a chance to rewrite our narrative .

“This team, let's see if they can start their own history,” Nurse said when asked about previous failures. "I'm not trying to be rude in any way, I just want this team to form its identity. What's happened in the past has no bearing or relevance to what's happening now, to me. I like to steal (longtime baseball manager) Joe Maddon's line and say we don't vibrate on those frequencies of the past."

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