What To Do About The Raptors?

So, you may not know this, but I'm a Toronto sports fan, in the sports where Toronto has a team. Unfortunately, this means I'm also a Raptors fan, and therefore subject to all the heartache we Raptors fans know so well. This team is a little different. In the beginning of the season, they showed promise as a squad of youngsters who were willing to go all out every night and overachieve. This effort seemed to fall by the wayside, however, when Reggie Evans got hurt (Evans was, not coincidentally, the best rebounder in the league according to advanced metrics, and an integral part of this Raptors team. Jay Triano has seemed unable to coax consistent effort from this squad ever since the injury, and the Raptor's defense has suffered. I'm not sure if Triano deserves to keep his job, and it's bad form for me to call him out based on the injuries the Raptors have suffered, but one thing's for sure. At times this season, this team has looked downright uninterested, and for a respected coach like Triano, that's unacceptable.
However, life in the last two months hasn't been all bad. We've seen DeMar Derozan mature seemingly before our eyes, as, since the New Year, he's been averaging over 20 ppg, while also showing flashes of aggressiveness and dominance. He's still got a long way to go, but for a sophomore, he's performed admirably given the situation around him. Andrea Bargnani has proven that he can be a legitimate scorer in the NBA, provided he has a banger (like Reggie Evans) to take the punishment down low. Jose Calderon has rebounded from his terrible season last year, and while he's still not back to his All Star worthy form from three years ago, he's proven he can be a solid veteran PG. Ed Davis has been perhaps the most pleasant surprise for the Raps, as his per-minute stats place him at 12th in the league in TRR and 5th in the league in blocks per game in blocks per game among PFs, according to Hoopdata. Jerryd Bayless has also shown flashes of what made him a high draft pick, and while he is still very much a project, Raptors fans should have hope.
This organization and it's fans are obviously looking forward to the future. With a high lottery pick looming, let's hope the Raptors can find someone to complement Bargnani inside, without being the offensive liability Evans has been. The top candidates seem to be Enes Kanter or, if the lottery balls bounce the right way, Jared Sullinger. Those links will take you to the DraftExpress profiles on both those players, where you can see that they're both seen as guys with strong inside games, which is something the Raptors definitely need. For now, we're not sure where the Raptors will fall in the lottery, so all we can hope for is continued improvement from the young guys, and, hopefully, a better showing from the coach.

The State of Hip-Hop Today

So as I was leaving the gym the other day, I ran into a friend from high school. Now, this guy claims to be a "hip-hop head", and he seems pretty knowledgeable about rap music today. Eventually, the talk turned to music, and I offhandedly referred to Illmatic. What happened next left my flabbergasted. He said to me: "Oh yeah, Illmatic, I've heard of that album, it's pretty good, isn't it?" Now, those of you who are reading this blog and have any knowledge of music whatsoever should know that Illmatic is, bar none, the greatest album in rap history. Someone who purports to love rap music should listen to it at least once a month, if not once a week. What struck is me that this is a guy who passes for a fan of rap music among today's youth, of which I am a sad member. That spoke to the sad state of hip-hop music today. I'm not sure how to fix it, all I know is that when kids can quote Drake, and yet have no knowledge of Illmatic, humanity as a whole needs to worry. So I implore you: find someone who hasn't listened to the classic albums from rap's Golden Age, sit them down, and play some of them, one after another. Be a shepherd to these poor sheep.