There is no way to spin this as ideal. The Toronto Raptors will play the Brooklyn Nets in their first-round series, which will start Saturday. If the Raptors win it - and despite the seeding, most experts will reasonably predict the Nets to come out on top - then they will advance to play the Miami Heat, unless the Charlotte Bobcats upset the champions in the first round.
Of all the possible scenarios that were in play heading into Tuesday's games, this one is the toughest. Raptors fans went from dreaming of a Washington/Indiana route to the Eastern Conference final to being legitimately frightened of their first-round opponent. If the goal was to advance as far as possible in these playoffs, Wednesday was a very, very bad evening.
Is that the Raptors' goal, though? For the coaches and players, sure. Part of what made the early-season tanking questions so painful is that they were rarely asked to the right people. Players try to win every game they play. With coaches it is not so clear cut, but their job is generally to prepare their players as well as possible in order to succeed, which can be a long-winded way of saying they are coaching to win. That definitely will not change in the playoffs, when development becomes less of an immediate priority.
However, for general Masai Ujiri, this season was never about wins or losses. Obviously that can get contorted as the games gain meaning at an exponential rate. Still, Ujiri's job is to assess how good these Raptors are, and how good they can be. This summer will bring about a bunch of major decisions for Ujiri to make - not only addressing free agents Dwane Casey and Kyle Lowry, but also judging the value of his younger core players - and he is about to get a lot of useful data to assist him.
There is no risk of the Raptors sneaking past another team, such as the Wizards or Bobcats, who might be a one-season wonder taking advantage of a messed up conference - just as some critics have painted the Raptors. The Nets are drenched in playoff experience: There are too many ridiculous statistics to choose from, but the Brooklyn rotation has played approximately 10.4 times the post-season minutes than the Raptors' rotation. It is staggering.
If DeMar DeRozan can get himself open despite the Nets' clutching and holding; if Jonas Valanciunas can go head to head with Kevin Garnett and not back down; if Terrence Ross can shut down Joe Johnson; if Kyle Lowry can exploit Brooklyn's defence, their accomplishments will ring louder than they would have against a less-decorated opponent.
Playing the grizzled Nets might be painful. It will definitely be instructive. There is something to take from that.
Post By http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014/04/16/toronto-raptors-are-in-tough-against-playoff-experienced-brooklyn-nets/
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