Shaq gives the league the "Old Shanghai Suprise"

Oh God everything went from so good to so bad so quickly. Losing Bargnani for the rest of the regular season was a loss that the Raptors could handle, but losing Garbo might be too much. Remember back to the beginning of the season when the Raptors were struggling to find consistency and their identity as a team? Remember when that all changed? It was right after Garbajosa was put into the starting line-up and Bargnani was giving more playing time. Since then the team has suffered injuries to all the other starters except Nesterovic but have managed to continue winning. So maybe Bosh and Ford aren’t the key to victory, maybe it is the hustle guys that do the little things are more important. Hmmmmm.

This is not an idea that translates well between sports. A hustler like Reed Johnson can’t replace Albert Pujols and Shane Corson certainly can’t fill the void Sundin would leave, but basketball is different. Hustle players live on the glass, dive for loose balls and create chaos on the floor in which other players can thrive. Garbajosa gives the Raptors a dynamic edge even though his numbers aren’t great. He is classified as a NBA rookie but he has played 11 years of professional basketball and won a world championship with Spain. He is the most experienced basketball player on the Raptors roster and there are few people with a better understanding of the game.

The Raptors are going to have their hands full tonight. Shaq has the magic fingers going and his team mates are making the open shots that he creates for them. If the Raptors can get a couple of early fouls on Shaq then they have a chance. They need to run as much as they can and wear the old Heat out. I don’t have a very good feeling about tonight’s game and think that the Raptors are outmatched.

Despite the injuries, the Raptors are poised to win their first Atlantic Conference title and add their first banner to the ACC’s rafters. The question is who they are going to play in the first round. If the playoffs started today they would play Chicago but they could easily face Miami. Either way, the Raptors are probably not going past the first round and that is a good thing. This year is about experience and learning to play together. The Raptors have done a great job of that but they are still a few pieces away from competing for a championship. If they can get some playoff experience, win a post season game or two, they will put themselves in a great position for next year.