The Rap-Up: Good riddance, 2024!

The calendar year is mercifully coming to an end. In 2025, hope springs eternal for the Toronto Raptors.

Farewell 2024!

The Toronto Raptors played exactly a season’s worth of games in 2024. In the 82 games played during this calendar year, the Raptors only won 20 times.

20-62. (They’re actually 20-61 since their final game of 2024 has yet to be played in Boston....but this assumption isn’t a stretch)

That’s bad. Really bad. But just how bad?

The Tampa Raptors finished with 7 more wins (and played 10 fewer games).

The 2010-2011 Raptors, led by Andrea Bargnani, finished with 2 more wins.

The 1995-1996 Raptors — yes, the inaugural season — finished with 1 more win.

You can make all the excuses about the team’s injury luck or roster turnover, but this past week was the icing on the cake of a horrible calendar year of Raptors basketball. After showing competitiveness throughout the first quarter of the season, Toronto looked lost and deflated last week as they surrendered point totals of 139 (in New York), 155 (in Memphis), and 136 (vs. Atlanta).

The rebuilding season has officially changed to the tanking season.

If 2025 proves to be a better calendar year for Toronto, that would likely be on the heels of an injection of talent in the summer, followed by a (presumably) healthy and cohesive roster.

For now, 2025 is likely going to start the same way 2024 ended.....with plenty of losses!

December 31 @ Boston Celtics

I could not, would not, watch the Celts.

I will not, will not, hail their belts.

I will not watch them in the rain.

Not in Real Sports! That’s inhumane.

I do not like them on a court.

I do not like them on parquet.

I do not like the way they play.

I will not watch them in my house.

I will not watch them with my spouse.

I do not like them here or there.

I do not like them anywhere!

I do not like Green Celtics, ma’am!

I do not like them, Sam (Hauser) or Sam (Cassell).

Fun fact that may only interest me

Sam Hauser is currently shooting 36.2% from three this season. While that percentage is still better than every Raptor not named Jamison or Ochai, it’s easily the worst shooting of his entire basketball career. Here are his percentages from the NBA & NCAA (he sat out the 2019-20 season due to NCAA transfer rules):

• 2023-24 (Boston): 42.4%
• 2022-23 (Boston): 41.8%
• 2021-22 (Boston): 43.2%
• 2020-21 (University of Virginia): 41.7%
• 2018-19 (Marquette University): 40.2%
• 2017-18 (Marquette University): 48.7%
• 2016-17 (Marquette University): 45.3%

Prediction

Toronto has lost the last 9 against Boston and 15 of the last 17 meetings. The Raptors have surrendered an average of 143.3 points over the last 3 games. Boston finished last season with the highest offensive rating in NBA history (oh, and a championship). The Celtics can probably rest all of their starters and still win this.

All that being said, I can still see the Celtics playing on cruise control while the Raptors make a backdoor cover. Toronto covers the +17.5 spread.

January 1 vs Brooklyn Nets

Are the Schedule Makers allowed to schedule a New Year’s Eve/Day back-to-back? If this were anything other than a rebuilding season, I’d probably cause a bigger stink that the Raptors would likely spend their New Year’s on a plane or in an airport.

If you’ve never seen the movie, Major League, (shame on you) it’s about a team of ragtag baseball players trying to rejuvenate a moribund franchise. Unfortunately, the owner is trying to sell the team and is actively pulling out all stops to ensure the team continues losing. The joke ends up being on the owner as the team manages to find ways to win.

This is not to say that Joe Tsai is trying to sell the Brooklyn Nets, but Sean Marks is doing what he can to make the Nets worse this season, in hopes of getting a high draft pick in June.

Jordi Fernandez and his ragtag group of ballers are approaching 2025 just two games out of a play-in position! The Head Coach of the Canadian Senior Men’s National Team has coached some impressive wins over the Grizzlies (x 2), Bucks (x 2), Warriors, and Suns. Two days after trading away Dennis Schroder, Brooklyn won in Toronto. On the same day Dorian Finney-Smith was traded away, the Nets lost to the Orlando Magic on a last-second bucket from Cole Anthony.

Maybe the Nets don’t end up making a surprise run to the playoffs (spoiler alert) like in Major League, but with Fernandez at the helm, the present and future are bright in Brooklyn.

Fun fact that may only interest me

Monteverde Academy has always been a breeding ground for future NBA stars. A slew of Toronto Raptors have come through Monteverde, including current Raptors (RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Bruno Fernando), former Raptors (Solomon Alabi, Precious Achiuwa), and future Raptors (Cooper Flagg, Andrew Nembhard).

Another pair of Monteverde alumni will also be suiting up for this game.

Prediction

When these teams met on December 19, Cam Johnson single-handedly outscored the Raptors 15-8 over the final 4 minutes, helping Brooklyn win 101-94. That was loss #6 in Toronto’s current 10-game losing streak. Until he’s traded, Johnson poses a serious threat to the Raptors’ porous defense. A back-to-back with a New Year’s celebration squeezed in between will not help matters for Toronto. The Nets kick off 2025 on a high note, covering the -5.5 spread.

January 3 vs Orlando Magic

While the Nets have overachieved despite a dearth of talent, the Orlando Magic continue winning despite injuries to their best players.

On October 30th, — one game after dropping a jaw-dropping stat line of 50 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists — Paolo Banchero tore his right oblique and has been out ever since. It’s been two months and the future All-NBA forward has yet to participate in contact drills.

On December 7th, Franz Wagner tore his right oblique (more like Oh Bleek, right???) and will be re-evaluated in the new year. Wagner was well on his way to making his first All-Star appearance before going down.

On December 21st, Mo Wagner suffered a season-ending torn ACL. He had just scored a career-high 32 points a week prior.

In the first game after (Mo) Wagner’s injury, Orlando started a lineup of Tristan Da Silva, Trevelin Queen, Goga Bitadze, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Jalen Suggs......and won......against the defending champion, Boston Celtics!

Jamahl Mosley is justifiably getting Coach of the Year buzz because the Magic are in 4th in the East and looking like a team that will host a playoff series in April.

Fun fact that may only interest me

The Orlando Magic are tied with the Indiana Pacers with 5 Most Improved Player award winners. Indiana had a 4-year “headstart” since the award was introduced in 1985 and Orlando entered the league in 1989.

Scott Skiles won the award in the Magic’s second season in the league — the same season where he dished out a league-record 30 assists in one game (which still stands). Darrell Armstrong is the only player in league history to win the Most Improved Player AND Sixth Man of the Year awards....and he did it in the same season!

The most memorable name in the bunch was not Hedo Turkoglu — who won the award 2 seasons before joining the Raptors — but Tracy McGrady, who won the award in his first season after leaving Toronto. Insert crying emoji.

Prediction

The Raptors are 1-9 against top-10 defenses this season. Despite all the injuries, Orlando have the 4th-ranked defense over the last two weeks, and 3rd-ranked defense over the entire season. Orlando covers the +6.5 spread.

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Last Week’s Record: 0-3

Season Record: 12-20