Title: Raptors’ return to Christmas Day slate hampered by injuries, tough Celtics loss
Date: December 25, 2019
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I wrote about the Raptors’ disappointing, shorthanded return to the NBA’s Christmas Day schedule.
“And it’s Christmas, so no one can fix it.” — Phoebe Bridgers
A pessimist who still wears the scars of the first 23 years even after a championship would tell you it was always going to go this way.
The Toronto Raptors were doomed to suffer some sort of setback once they finally reached the pinnacle of NBA media partner respect with a position on the vaunted Christmas Day slate, territory that Vince Carter had taken them to as visitors in 2001 and they hadn’t been back to since because of, well, (gestures broadly) take your pick. It’s a monkey’s paw situation, the Raptors wishing for overdue respect with marquee placement and, when it’s finally rewarded, being placed in a terribly unfortunate and unrepresentative situation.
A realist would disagree that this was predestined, but they’d be no less surprised by Wednesday’s result, a 118-102 loss to the Boston Celtics.
Check it out on The Athletic.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 