The Toronto Raptors are having one of the best seasons in franchise history - in a year when nobody expected it. Many believed s

Posted in IYH Forums by jokergreen0220 at 08:46, Jul 10 2018

The Toronto Raptors are having one of the best seasons in franchise history - in a year when nobody expected it. Many believed sneaking into the final playoff spot would be a success for the Raptors this season, but even that wasnt guaranteed. But with only 11 games remaining in the regular season, Toronto (40-31) sits in third place in the Eastern Conference, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets for tops in the Atlantic Division and a postseason spot all but official. This will be the first time since 2008 that the Raptors will play in the NBAs second season. With all of the good fortunes the Dinos have seen this year, who has been most integral to the teams success? DeMar DeRozan is the face of the franchise and is one of the longest tenured members of the Raptors. The 24-year-old made his first All-Star Game this season and is leading the team in points scoring 22.7 per game. This is DeRozans fifth year in the Association and he signed a four-year deal last season to stay north of the border for the foreseeable future. Will the team only go as far as DeMar will take them? Kyle Lowry has quickly become a fan favourite in only his second season in Raptors colours. The rugged point guard has shown bulldog-like toughness on a nightly basis, playing considerable minutes and being the man the team has looked to when they are in need of a spark. Analysts and fans alike thought the 28-year-old should have been in New Orleans for the All-Star Game. Averaging 17.6 PPG (scoring over 20 points in eight consecutive games) along with 7.7 assists per game makes a good case for that argument. His future is uncertain in Toronto with Lowry hitting the free agent market this summer, but the Raptors are glad to have him for the time being. Is he the one to thank? Then theres Amir Johnson. At only 26, he can be considered a veteran, already playing in his ninth NBA season and is an important part of the Raps front court. He averages 11.1 PPG, 6.9 rebounds per game and is a strong force on the defensive side of the ball. Maybe the key success is coming from the sidelines. Head coach Dwane Casey is in his second year in charge of the Raptors and seems to have finally gotten through to his players. Toronto has gotten much better defensively only allowing 97.6 PPG, good enough for fifth in the NBA. Is the coachs defence-first mindset the reason the Raptors are headed to the post-season? The success could be attributed to General Manager Masai Ujiri. The Nigerian hasnt brought in a lot of highly touted talent since he took the job last off-season. Instead hes used the method of addition by subtraction to improve on the court. First, he shipped the much-maligned Andrea Bargnani off to the New York Knicks followed by sending Rudy Gay to the Sacramento Kings during the season. Toronto is 34-19 since Gay was traded out west. With the offence no longer going through Gay, the Raptors have been able to score more efficiently. Not to mention the players coming back to Toronto - namely Patrick Patterson and Greivis Vasquez – have helped the Raptors to get where they are today. Do we have to look to the front office for the reason behind the sudden improvement? So, who do you think is the most integral to the Raptors success this season? As always, its Your! Call. Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Two worthy candidates will vie for the first-ever CFP National Championship and the funny thing is that neither is from the SEC. The Southeastern Conference held the rest of the college football world at bay over the last decade or so, as a member of the conference had played in every BCS National Title game since 2007 and won seven championships in a row prior to Florida States victory over Auburn last year. With a new system in place in 2014, the times are changing. Not only is there no SEC member playing in the final game next week in Arlington, but the conference as a whole took it on the chin in the postseason. Alabama won the conference crown and did represent the SEC in the College Football Playoff, but faltered against Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl (42-35). That was the marquee matchup for the conference but not the only disappointment, especially in the vaunted SEC West. The powerhouse division went just 2-5 in the bowl season this year, with losses by Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. It was an embarrasing overall performance by a division that had as many as four teams with realistic shots at staking claims to spots in the first-ever playoff system at some point this year. So, did we witness the demise of the SEC, or are we privy to the start of a college football revival across the country. I am leaning towards the latter. The much maligned Big Ten took some harsh criticism as the weakest among the Power Five conferences this season. Well, outside of Michigans total collapse, the Big Ten has re-establushed itself as a powerful entity going forward. Ohio State, under Urban Meyer, has been consistently spectacular and this season is no different. The Buckeyes, who play the Oregon Ducks for the national title, have been so successful, that their Heisman candidate quarterback (Braxton Miller) may be looking for somewhere else to play now that OSUs quarterback depth has proved to be second to none. Michigan State, Wisconsin and Nebraska failed to win the conference title this season, but all three are powerhouses in their own right and will be for years to come. Penn State has now had its bowl sanctions llifted and celebrated with a thrilling victory over Boston College in the Pinestripe Bowl.ddddddddddddWith a star QB under center (Christian Hackenberg) much more is expected of the Nittany Lions in 2015. Even Michigans collapse has brought about a change in Ann Arbor, as Jim Harbaugh has been brought in from the NFL to lead the Wolverines into a new era. The Big Ten is not the only conference to step up in 2014. It just so happens that the Pac-12s star is on the rise as well. The other conference represented in next weeks championship game, the Pac-12 had a revival of sorts in 2014. Oregon is clearly the cream of the conference crop and proved that by winning back-to-back lopsided decisions over Arizona in the Pac-12 Championship Game (51-13) and Florida State in the Rose Bowl (59-20). With the reigning Heisman winner under center in Marcus Mariota, Oregon is favored next week against Ohio State to capture its first national title. It didnt come as easy as it has looked over the last couple of games, as the Pac-12 competition was tight. The Ducks were able to avenge their only loss of the season in the Pac-12 championship, but dont forget that the Arizona Wildcats went into Eugene early on and took out Oregon on its own field (31-24). Stanford took a step back and had a down year for sure, but Arizona State, UCLA, Utah and USC all had strong seasons as well, capped off by bowl victories. Add the Big 12 to the mix. It wasnt the usual teams like Oklahoma or Texas making their presence felt, but rather, Baylor and TCU that made things extremely difficult on the CFP selection committee down the stretch. In fact, there were plenty of naysayers around the country when the four spots were decided and neither the Horned Frogs nor the Bears were invited to the party. One thing is for sure -- the Big 12 is on the upswing heading into 2015 It remains to be seen if the NCAA finally got it right with the long sought-after playoff in college football. Its hard to argue its merits after year one, though. In the world of college football, this years changes have opened the door to possibilities beyond just the SEC. In that case, change is definitely a good thing. NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2020 Wholesale NFL Gear China Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys China ' ' '