The country’s hockey teams are in the doldrums. Will one of the NBA’s scrappiest teams restore some national pride?There was no shortage of reasons to celebrate this past weekend in Toronto: On Friday,the city’s hometown 6ix God Drake released Views, his hotly anticipated new record. The following evening the Toronto Maple Leafs, or the city’s recently-maligned hockey club,landed the rights to choose a franchise player when they were awarded the first overall choice in the NHL Entry Draft lottery.
But it was Sunday’s triumph in Hogtown that stands to resonate across the entire country: the Toronto Raptors all but exorcised their demons of past playoff shortcomings with their first ever Game 7 win, an 89-84 victory over the Indiana Pacers. You could develop a very compelling case that the win did little to supply the team’s doubters with any sort of assurance of their capabilities moving forward. A 16-point lead eventually gave way to stingy Pacers defense and as the final minutes eroded, and the Raptors fan base held their collective breath. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com