Raptors Clinch, Vladdy Hurt, And More...

Been away for a bit. A few things have happened in Toronto's sports landscape since my last post. I've watched at least parts of all the Raptors and Leafs games over the past week. Though I have yet to watch a full spring training Jays game (Not really one for spring games. Give me regular season games already!), I have been following the club closely through articles and podcasts.

A few thoughts/observations on those three teams over the past few days:

Raptors Clinch Playoff Spot

The Raptors are playoff-bound for the sixth consecutive season and we didn't have to play a game to make that happen.

The Bucks beat the Hornets today (Sunday on my end) and the Raptors clinched a berth as a result.




Toronto Raptors(@raptors)님의 공유 게시물님,


We're 3 games back of the Bucks. Don't think we can catch 'em. And since those guys won the season series, we have to finish ahead of them. A tie won't do.

It seems like a decision time for Coach Nurse. Do we go all-in, push Kawhi harder than earlier in the season, so we could get past the Bucks for the top seed? Or do we just keep doing the same "load management" thing with him and keep tinkering with different lineup combinations, since it looks like we're going to cruise into second place anyway?

The Pacers are 5 games back of us. The Sixers are another game behind. I think the worst we'll finish is second place.

I've written this before, but if the current standings hold up through the end of the regular season, then I won't mind the Raptors getting the No. 2 seed.

We'll get the Nets (more on them later) in the first round, and if we beat 'em, we get the winner of the Pacers-Pistons series.

The Bucks will face Miami and should ease past them. But then they get the winner of Phlly-Boston next. For all the trouble the Celtics have had this year, Kyrie's bold declaration that no one could beat them in a seven-game series may turn out to be true. Not sure I want to face either BOS or PHI in the second round.

Now, this is a recurring theme for me. The Nets kinda, sorta scare me just because of their shooting ways and the play of one D'Angelo Russell. That kid is helping my fantasy team so much, but I hate it when he helps the Nets against my Raptors.

The Pistons are currently in sixth, in a virtual tie with the Nets. Dwane Casey's team could drop to seventh and face us in the first round.

That could be trouble, too, because the Pistons have beaten us twice this season and I think they're better than people give them credit for.

Can you imagine how sweet it would be for Casey if his new team knocked us out of the first round?? Do his players even need extra motivation for that matchup? What better rallying cry than trying to win one for the coach who got fired even after guiding his previous team to the best regular season in franchise history?

Well, the Magic are kind of lurking, one back of the Heat for the eighth spot. Let's say we overtake the Bucks and face the Magic in the opening round.

Yup, this is the Magic team that pounded us by 29 points in December and then by 15 points a couple of weeks ago. Not sure I like this matchup, either.

Okay, this is just the pessimist in me fretting. In a seven-game series, we should be able to handle the Nets, Piston and Magic. At least I hope so.

Blowing out the Pelicans the other day was just what we needed. Had an OT loss to Detroit, and then dropped a tough on to Houston (we were down big early, "klawed" all the way back to take a slim lead into the 4th, only to fall apart in the opening moments of the final quarter).

Leafs in Cruise Control

Okay, maybe not so much cruise control, but we're all but assured of a playoff spot out of Atlantic. We're 10 ahead of the bad guys Habs with 14 games remaining and there's no way we'll finish worse than third in the division.

The Bruins are four ahead of us with the same number of games left. They've been on a tear of late and boast one of the stingiest defenses in the league. File this under "Here We Go Again" folder, as the Leafs seem destined to meet the Bruins in the opening round for the second straight year.

The NHL playoff setup is so quirky. The top three teams from each division qualify for the postseason, with two wild card winners from each conference joining them. And it can be really frustrating and maddening for certain fan bases when you have a stacked division like this season's Atlantic.

Tampa, Boston and Toronto are 1-2-3 in the division. These three are 1st, 2nd and 4th overall in the entire NHL. But because the league wants to foster divisional rivalries and whatever, No. 2 and No. 3 play each other in the opening round, while the top dog faces one of the wild card teams. And it's guaranteed that only one of those 1-2-3 teams will even make the conference finals.

In other words, you have two best teams in the conference in Tampa and Boston, and the latest they will meet is in the second round. Think about that. The two best teams in the regular season, not just in the conference but in the entire league, will not face each other in the conference finals.

As for the Leafs, well, if we get past the second-best team in the NHL, then we have to beat the best team in the NHL just to get to the conference finals!

There's no perfect system and you can never make everyone happy. But I feel that under the current system, there will always be a couple of teams that get the short end of the stick for being in the wrong division.

For what it's worth, if we did the more conventional playoff seeding, with an edge going to divisional champions regardless of point totals, the Leafs would be seeded 4th in the East. The Capitals have two fewer points than we do at 87 but they're the division leaders, so they get the 2nd seed behind the Bolts.

In that case, we'd face the Islanders. Man, this particular year, given all that's gone on between these two teams, who wouldn't take the Leafs-Isles over the Leafs-Bruins in the first round?

If we just lined every team by the point totals, regardless of the division crown, the Leafs would be third. In that case, we'd take on the Hurricanes in the first round.

This means we may see one of those infamous post-victory celebrations, if we ever lose in Raleigh. These guys will take this to a whole new level in the playoffs.

 
 
Oh wells... the system won't change. So gotta do what you gotta do. As I said before, if we can get past the Bruins, I think the Lightning can be vulnerable against a team like us in a seven-game series. Then what? We'll get one of the teams from Metro, which has produced the past three Stanley Cup champs (Pittsburgh twice and Caps last year).
 
But first things first. Down with those Bruins!
 

Vladdy Sidelined
 
Vladdy Jr. will be out for a while with left oblique strain.
 
I bet he's really hurt and all that. But the cynic in me thinks the timing of this injury is way too convenient for the management, which has been under fire for its service time manipulation antics.
 
I've written about that stuff here. Of course, all other teams  in the Jays' position would do the same thing. But that doesn't mean we fans have to like it or agree with it. This club, with rebuilding and all, has set us fans up for a potentially catastrophic season. And Junior is one of the few things that we can look forward to in 2019. The guy represents hope for the franchise. The future is now!
 
Recently, in an attempt to avoid telling the truth that the Jays were trying to gain an extra year of control by keeping Vladdy in the minors at the start of the season, Atkins gave us this beauty.

The context is everything, of course. Atkins probably didn't mean it. He was just trying to give some reason for the Jays not to have Guerrero at the start of the season, without saying they were manipulating his service time. Defense was an excuse, as was the case with Kris Bryant in 2015. I wish he hadn't said these words, though. He could have settled for something like, "I don't think he's ready to play defense at the major league level" or "I think he still has to work on a few things in the minors." Something generic like that. To be so blunt about Vladdy not being a major league player was going too far.

But if you take that sentence out of context, then it sounds foolish. No major league GM in his right mind would ever utter those words. Otherwise, people would start saying, "I just don't see (insert name) as a major league general manager."

His defense may be suspect, but Vladdy has nothing left to prove in the minors. He may already be he best hitter we have on the big league team. What's a couple of weeks in Triple-A do to help his defense anyway?

But now, this oblique injury gives Atkins and Co. something to fall back on. They don't even have to say anything about defense. "He's hurt. He won't be ready for Opening Day. We'll call him up when he's ready, etc" will do.

I am not suggesting the Jays are lying about the severity of the injury. No big league club would be so disingenuous. But the timing has worked out perfectly for the front office.

Some Jays fans have expressed their misgivings about Junior's weight. The kid is huge in every sense of the word. Maybe a little thick around his waist.

We must remember that he's only 19. Who am I to judge his work ethic when I've never seen him play in person, but I bet he's been coasting through the minors on sheer talent without necessarily taking care of his body like good pros would. He'll learn the hard way that it takes more than gift to thrive in the big show. Maybe he's still got some baby fat? Whatever the case, I don't think there's any question he needs to get leaner and meaner.

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