Chin up, Raptors fans

It was a tough weekend for Raps fans, to be sure. In fact, it was tough to decide which was the worst deal of the three - 1. Jermaine O'Neal getting hauled down by Sean Williams and spraining his precious, newly rehabilitated knee (and not getting a free throw out of it, even though a single make would have prevented no. 2.: Wince single-handedly tying and winning a closely fought game amidst a hailstorm of boos. Not only did he do exactly that, but he did so in such a fashion that made us pause and dream in awe of exactly how good the Raps would be right now if we were to re-swap Joey Graham back for him at our pathetic 3-spot. The same way you look at your ex in her new dress and you know things would never have worked out but still, the possibility kills you. And we've almost just about healed those wounds. Anyway, as if those 2 weren't enough, the Celtics game brought us no.3.: Bosh looking so frustrated that had Raps fans panicking about 2010 in a whole new way. And it wasn't really anything anyone could have done anything about, the Raps were just entirely outclassed in that game. I'm a Raptors fan through and through but I will readily admit that teams above .500 are a challenge for us to handle right now, not until Bargnani is at least at a 15ppg clip, Calderon and O'Neal are back to all-star form and Parker/Kapono put in their 5 3ptfgs a game. I'm not asking too much, am I?

So what do we have to look forward to after that disastrous weekend? As much as the Raptors have been outplayed by opponents out of their league, we've also put weaker opponents in their place. After all, even though we've recently moved to below .500, we've still gotten 6 Ws even if they were all against teams under .500. The next two home games against Charlotte and Atlanta should present an opportunity for the Raptors to get back onto the plus side. We've looked really bad at times, but we've also looked really good - often within the same game, as a matter of fact. The Boston game was just all bad, so I think we are due for at least a mostly good. With the recent form of Bosh, the re-emergence of Bargnani, the steady hand of Calderon, and if all else fails, the sheer will from the home crowd, things should get better. If not, fasten your seatbelts because we're in for a bumpy ride.