Damian Goddard has been part of the Toronto sports landscape for almost a decade. The Humber graduate has worked with 680 News, Rogers Sportsnet and is now a member of the Raptors NBA TV team. You can catch more of Damian hosting Raptors Game Day and Raptors Post Up each game day on Raptors NBA TV.

by Damian Goddard
raptors.commentator
March 7, 2005

(TORONTO) -- February blahs have morphed into March Madness and everything is right in the world of basketball.

Not that the month of February was anything to complain about for your Toronto Raptors. After all, Canada’s team came back from the all-star break to reel off three straight wins to close out the month. So, make that +.500 basketball in January and February. The Raptors hadn’t strung together back-to-back winning months since March/April of the 2000-2001 season.

While that statistic and a handful of w’s might not get you a ride on your neighbourhood transit system (let alone a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs), it’s just one of the many hoops-related issues that have been swirling through my mind as roundball activity takes a front seat in the consciousness of the North American sports fan … and that means you, disgruntled NHL die-hards!

Chris Bosh put up a career high in points on Sunday. (NBAE/Getty Images)

Where to begin … Well, let me just rifle things off as they pop into my oft-times vacuous melon.

Sunday night in New Orleans, and we’re minutes into the game. Rafer Alston turns the ball over on back-to-back possessions and jacks up a couple of ill-advised shots in a must-win situation.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but earlier in the season, are those sins punishable by a seat on the bench for an undisclosed period of time? Skip goes 3-10 from the field -- 6 of them three-point attempts -- in 39 minutes. Has fiery coach Sam Mitchell turned the knob up on the patience dial? Let’s just hope, with all that’s gone down with his point guard, he hasn’t turned down the passion.

Speaking of passion, what to make of the madness in college hoops?! What a remarkable final Sunday with Illinois, Kansas and Kentucky being dealt big blows and Roy William’s Tar Heels closing out the Dukies on an 11-0 run for the ACC regular season title.

And how nice was it to hear UConn head coach Jim Calhoun offer up praise to the likes of Ray Allen and Raptor Donyell Marshall following career win #700?

As for the road to the Final Four, the one Raptor who just might be shouting the loudest as the tournament develops is Alvin Williams. Watch out for A-Dub's alma mater, Villanova which heads into the Big East tournament riding a seven-game win streak. The Wildcats have knocked off the likes of Boston College, Kansas and Pittsburgh and went down to the wire in a loss to Connecticut in early February.

Roy Williams and his Tar Heels came back and beat the Dookies in Chapel Hill Sunday. (Getty Images)

College fans might want to keep an eye on a smooth-shooting, 6-10, 240-pound Gator forward. No, I’m not talking about Matt Bonner, but I could be, seeing as he’s coming off a career-high in points and minutes played Sunday in New Orleans. Maybe Bonner was buoyed by what his Gators did earlier in the day against Kentucky at the O’Connell Center in Gainseville. That other Gator forward is David Lee, and many pundits are expecting big things from the Florida senior in the coming weeks.

Let’s be honest. The losses the Raptors suffered to the Spurs and Grizzlies last week stung. It certainly isn’t because they deserved to beat two of the best defensive teams in the NBA. It’s because, even though they really have no business playing in this year’s playoffs, they continue to tease the fan base. And that’s a good thing, for as we well know, this year’s edition lives by the motto “never say die”.

Heading into Memphis, the Raptors had won 16 of their last 20 fourth quarters, shooting close to 50% from the floor in that span. It does beg the question, “What the heck happened against the Grizzlies in the fourth, shooting 18% and scoring just 8 points in the final period?”

Uh by the way, heading into Monday night’s date in Dallas, the Raptors need to go 16-7 down the stretch to finish at .500. But, could 39 wins get you in? Hey, Boston danced (rather two-left-footed mind you) their way in last year with a 36-win campaign.

After perusing the rest of the schedule, I did some moderate ‘crunching’ and here’s one scenario that would see the Raptors take 14 more to attain 39 victories, but keep in mind, it doesn’t look good:
• 5-6 on the road – That includes a win in Dallas (hey, they’ve split the likes of the Kings, Spurs and Lakers and the Mavs are banged up)
• 9-3 at home – Eeks, this is a tough sell, but here goes. The tough, grind it out wins would come at the expense of Detroit and Memphis (in the middle of a 4-game win streak) and another pair of edge-of-your-seat jobs against Indiana and Boston. Oh yeah, those victories would come in the midst of a five-game tear.

While we can have a bit of fun with what’s left of the Raptors schedule, I still stand by the belief that this season’s success will not be based on whether or not they have a few more home dates in late April/early May. It’s not so much the quantity of wins as it is the quality of games, that fans should be focused on during the final stretch.

But still in the back of your mind, you’ve got to wonder…

… Gosh, I love this time of year!