Bringing back the Pop Tart Bowl mascot to effectively depict tonight’s Raptors game

The only way to accurately convey my feelings about the Toronto Raptors 1-point loss to the Chicago Bulls.

The Toronto Raptors hosted the Chicago Bulls for a good ol’ game of basketball tonight... and it was interesting! With Scottie Barnes, Quickley, and Bruce Brown still out for the team, the Raptors started Barrett, Ochai Agbaji, Jonathan Mogbo, Jakob Poeltl and Gradey Dick.

From there... it was sometimes hard to watch. Then sometimes it wasn’t. Like my mood in the short winter days, this game was often all over the place. I contemplated my options on how to accurately articulate this game and recap it in a way that wasn’t kinda gloomy. I landed on bringing back our good friend, the Pop Tart (RIP), to help me describe the feelings of this Monday night Raptors game. One last ode to the OG before the next generation of Pop Tart Bowl memes descend on us in the coming weeks.

The Raptors lost by one point, 122-121, in a rollercoaster of a game.

So here is how tonight’s Raptors game went:

How it felt before the game knowing these teams weren’t THAT unevenly matched:

Bulls are 9th in the East, Raptors 14th, but Chicago only had four more wins than Toronto going into this game. On paper, these teams were pretty even. The Raptors would have been HEAVY favourites if they had all their players in the lineup and healthy.

Of course, that excitement faded a little as the score got more and more uneven. Some questionable lineups added to that — how about the one with Davion Mitchell, Kelly Olynyk, Ochai Agbaji, Chris Boucher, and Ja’kobe Walter. That’s... a December lineup for ya. Get used to that!

When the team came within one point and made it a competitive game:

Competitive loss! An art the Raptors have perfected this season. It was super fun to see the team rally together around Jamal Shead and come within one. Carrying on the tradition of losing a lot but making it fun.

RJ Barrett scored 32 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal. Gradey Dick had 27 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists. Jamal Shead played 12 minutes off the bench and scored 10 points, shooting 100% from three and from the field. He had 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal.

The guys who were playing hard played well, and the fourth quarter was enjoyable to watch.

When the Bulls extended their lead past 10 points:

It happened multiple times in the game. Like these players ready to devour our beloved Pop Tart, the Bulls were ready to notch a W in the win column. Whenever the Raptors threatened them and came within five points, the Bulls retaliated.

Toronto did make a comeback at the end, but alas it was a one point loss. At least they made it competitive.

The Raptors did at least score the 100 required points to get fans a free slice of pizza. So like this sacrifice of the Pop Tart, this Raptors loss resulted in a tasty treat as well.

When Jakob Poeltl slid and went immediately back to the locker room:

As if the Raptors needed another player to add to the injury list. Jakob Poeltl slipped during a play in the 4th quarter, immediately in pain. He seemed to be holding his inner legs/groin, which would make sense given the way he fell.

He did walk off on his own, but went right back to the locker room. On top of Barnes, Quickley, Brown, Battle, and everyone else who has been in and out of the lineup, losing Jakob would be terrrrrible. It’s hard enough trying to find backup center minutes on this lineup, but when Poeltl is out it is so noticeable.

Hopefully he is okay and able to play Thursday’s game. eye twitch

Me at the end of the game:

A rollercoaster of emotions, a comeback, an injury — this game game was the works. I am tired. Luckily the Raptors don’t play now until Thursday.