Nets Vs Raptors

The play offs begin tomorrow. The Nets will be playing the Raptors at Toronto. Till a couple of weeks ago, we didn’t know if we would be making the play offs and now we are the 6th seed with a decent possibility of going into the conference semi finals and maybe even the conference finals. The only hurdle at the end of the road is Detroit which is a strong, stable and effective team. The eastern conference has too many scatter brain teams including the nets but excluding the pistons. So, on any given day, anyone can beat anyone and get anywhere. Hence, the chances of making it all the way to the conference finals look pretty possible from where I am sitting at. I have all through the season blamed Carter for not being man enough. I have also said that he doesn’t have a heart of a champion like Jason Kidd does. In the season finale, Jason with his hustle proved that he was the heart and soul of the nets. His energy translated into steals, fast break points and a miserly defense. Chicago was in disarray all through the game and couldn’t really catch up.
Tomorrow begins the final test for Carter. The time for him to stand up and play like a champion. To carry a team on his shoulders and not let the boos shut him up. He cannot come out subdued and cannot defer to the other champion. He has to take the bulls by the horn. The first game will set the tone for the series and most importantly point towards which side things will lean. I am an eternal optimist. I hope and pray that Carter grows big cohonas and beats the shit out of the raptors. Not in a crazy maniacal way but in a cool composed way. That’s the only way we will win.