NUMBERS DON'T LIE - RAPTORS 105, CELTICS 103 - The "Playoffs are locked In" Edition

posted by Romy Aquino (@romyaquino)

NUMBERS DON'T LIE

RAPTORS 105, CELTICS 103

The "Playoffs are locked In" Edition

The Toronto Raptors postseason is locked in.  For the first time since '08, the Raptors clinched a playoff berth with a 105-103 win over the Boston Celtics on Friday night, and now there's a big ol' 'X' marked by the Raptors in the standings.  Amir Johnson grabbed the offensive board scored the game winning basket with seven seconds to play to seal the win for Toronto over a pesky Boston Celtics squad.

NUMBERS DON'T LIE - CAVS 102, RAPTORS 100 - The "Oh, those free throws" Edition

posted by Romy Aquino (@romyaquino)

NUMBERS DON'T LIE

CAVS 102, RAPTORS 100

The "Oh, those free throws" Edition

Oh, those free throws.  The Raptors had a terrible night at the free throw line and it proved costly on Tuesday night.  Raptors lost a close one to the Cavs 102-100, dropping their fourth loss in their last six games.  Torono is now 39-31 on the season and are now behind the Chicago Bulls in the standings. 

NUMBERS DON'T LIE - THUNDER 119, RAPTORS 118 (2OT) - The "KD Stunner" Edition

posted by Romy Aquino (@romyaquino)

NUMBERS DON'T LIE

THUNDER 119, RAPTORS 118 (2OT)

The "KD Stunner" Edition

Kevin Durant came into the ACC on Friday night and took the life out of the building with 1.7 seconds to play in a double overtime thriller against the Raptors.  Toronto went blow for blow with OKC and eventually pulled a way with under a minute to play in double OT....and then Kevin Durant happened.

Canadian Watch at the Tournament - Let the March Madness Begin!

posted by Romy Aquino (@romyaquino)

Let the MADNESS begin.

Who's in your final four?

Canadian Watch at the 2013 NCAA Tournament

Well, it's March and it's time to fill out your bracket for your NCAA tournament office pool.  I'm an NBA guy and in no means an NCAA tournament expert by any stretch of the imagination.  But, I do fill out a bracket every year at the office and my strategy has always been the following: 1) find four expert brackets online, 2) chose a quadrant from each expert bracket, 3) pick Kansas to win and BAM, my bracket for the office pool is set.

Check out my full bracket here.

NUMBERS DON'T LIE - RAPTORS 99, GRIZZLIES 86 - The "Return of the Naismith Cup" Edition

posted by Romy Aquino (@romyaquino)

NUMBERS DON'T LIE

RAPTORS 99, GRIZZLIES 86

The "Return of the Naismith Cup" Edition

Welcome to the Naismith Cup.  The Raptors have not lost a step yet this season and have shown that they can compete against any team in the league.  Toronto defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 99-86 at the ACC on Friday night, closing them out in the final quarter of action...and just one point shy of free pizza.  Couldn't have asked for a better finish.

RAPTORS PODCAST: RAPS TALK presented by HHJ & HHN Ep. 61 (03.13.2014)

posted by Romy Aquino (@romyaquino)
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RAPTORS PODCAST - RAPS TALK Episode 61

The "Swirskyisms" episode

Episode 61 of RAPS TALK (03.13.14) - How do you #ReignOn?  Check out the contest on Hoop Heads North for a $100 certificate to NBAStore.com.  On this week's podcast we discuss the past week with the Raptors, reminisce about Chuck Swirsky, talk about Terrence Ross, his Reddit AMA and his Flappy Bird high score, Andrew Wiggins and of course our Wenningtons of the Week where we recap the best NBA Canadian performances from the past week.

RAPTORS PODCAST: RAPS TALK presented by HHJ & HHN Ep. 60 (03.06.2014)

posted by Romy Aquino (@romyaquino)
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RAPTORS PODCAST - RAPS TALK Episode 60

The "Reunited" episode

Episode 60 of RAPS TALK (03.06.14) - The crew is back! U-E makes his triumphant return to the #RAPSTALK podcast for the first time this season.  On this week's podcast we discuss the new 20th anniversary logo, Bryan Colangelo's tanking comments, the growth of DeMar DeRozan, whether to boo Rudy Gay or not and of course our Wenningtons of the Week where we recap the best NBA Canadian performances from the past week.

NUMBERS DON'T LIE - RAPTORS 104, WARRIORS 98 - The "Out for Revenge" Edition

posted by Romy Aquino (@romyaquino)

NUMBERS DON'T LIE

RAPTORS 104, WARRIORS 98

The "Out for Revenge" Edition

The last time these two teams played, Rudy Gay was still on the Raptors roster and the Raptors blew a 27-point lead, losing to Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors.  On Sunday afternoon, Toronto was out to revenge that loss from earlier in the season (and if you missed our game preview with Let's Go Warriors, check it here.) Toronto locked down on defence in the fourth quarter and held off the Golden State Warriors 104-98 and Toronto moved to 33-26 on the season.

#TankNation? Former Raptors GM, Bryan Colangelo “Admittedly, I tried to tank a couple of years ago”

posted by Romy Aquino (@romyaquino)

Raptors were a member of #TankNation?

Colangelo: “Admittedly, I tried to tank a couple of years ago”

Up until this season, it has been a rough go for the Toronto Raptors for a few years now.  Fans have watched the Raptors have five straight losing seasons up until this current season.  In his tenure, former Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo did what he could to turn this franchise around, including an attempt to "tank" in the 2011-12 season in his latest comments at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

(Via nba.si.com)

“Admittedly, I tried to tank a couple of years ago,” Colangelo said during a basketball panel at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. “I didn’t come out and say, ‘Coach, you have to lose games.’ I wanted him to establish a winning tradition and culture, but I wanted him to do it in the framework of playing and developing young players.”