Last night the Raptors gave up a season-worst 115 points. The previous two games they gave up 110 and 109 points respectively. The team's field goal percentage was 27th of 29 teams heading into last night's game, and yet Wilkens stated pre-game the problem simply was a matter of shots not dropping. Maybe that realization has happened behind closed doors, and not in public, and fine then. It is not enough to say the team hasn't been healthy.
Good teams step up when a key player goes down.
The Raptors have stopped doing so. In fact, last night, for the first time, there was an undercurrent of doubt. It was there, like a bump under the carpet, in the funereal atmosphere post-game. There is only one way to get out of it, and that's play between the lines, individually and collectively. Rumours persist that the Raptors have interest in Shareef Abdur-Rahim, but acquiring him and his chunky salary is filled with obstacles, particularly given the Raptors are capped out and ownership faces stiff league penalties next season if they go over.