NBA Toronto Raptors

Toronto Raptors Must Step Up Their Game

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Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Knowing your team is capable of being really good can be both a blessing and a curse, and in the past, countless numbers of teams have suffered from being overconfident. This is not to say the Toronto Raptors have been at all overconfident this season, but falling in the standings and knowing they have been No. 1 for some time has to play a role.

Confidence plays a huge role in a young team. When feeling good and confident, they can preform well and overachieve. One of the biggest factors is having the confidence shattered by any little thing. This might be one of the things the Toronto Raptors are suffering from in the last several weeks.

The Raptors have admitted that they are not quite as hungry as they were early in the season, resulting in some overall poor performances. Before the home court blowout handed to them by the Atlanta Hawks, the Raptors were suffering from a lack of consistency. During the beginning of the season, Toronto played every game with high intensity and didn’t slow down. It also carried fourth-quarter comebacks from last season to 2014-15. Its proudest statistic has been going 15-1 in games after leading in the first. However, this was not the case in the game against the much improved Detroit Pistons. After a great start, Toronto did not keep up the lead and ended up losing the match.

Going into the end-of-the-year road trip, Toronto was confident and won against the Los Angeles Clippers and the Denver Nuggets. The game against the Portland Trail Blazers was also a good one despite the close loss. Furthermore, the loss to the best team in the west and the NBA, the Golden State Warriors, was when Toronto started to simmer down.

Ever since visiting the Warriors, Toronto lost a lot of confidence, leading to a 2-4 record since. This might not be the worst streak, but it certainly has taken a toll on the team, and it shows from how it plays. The Hawks might have become a very good team, but Toronto was not playing its kind of basketball in the loss.

The sooner the Raptors turn things around, the better it will be for them in the long run. How they handle Anthony Davis and the tough New Orleans Pelicans will show what we can expect in the next few games.

Abdikarim Hashi is an NBA writer for www.RantSports.com. You could follow him on Twitter @GoldHashi, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google. 

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