The last five years in Toronto basketball have generally been fruitful and fun. More often than not, though, the endings of those seasons have been downright miserable. We don’t need to re-litigate all the different reasons why the Raptors have pooped the bed in the playoffs time and again. LeBron did some mean things; Paul Pierce can go to hell; Kyle and DeMar had a lot of 4-of-19 games. You know the repetitive, soul-crushing drill.
All those heartbreaks hurt, but they were also necessary. Each Game 1 misstep or lifeless sweep served as a step along the road to the 2018-19 season — the year where, finally, there is no need to be cripplingly afraid of spring hoops.