It's not easy

being a Toronto Raptor's fan. This NBA team has lost more games in which they led by double-digits than any other team in the league. Their game against the Milwaukee Bucks this past Monday was nothing short of a showcase for how to give up a lead late in a game. The Raptors had led for almost the entire game. Now, with 34 seconds left and the Raps on top by 3, I suppose it's not entirely uncommon to lose such a game. But what is very uncommon is that in those 34 seconds, Toronto allowed Milwaukee to score 13 unanswered points, winning by 10. Once again, they folded like a cheap tent.

I posted on a message board just a day before that game that the Raptors have all the talent they need to be contenders, but the one thing they lack is grit. Call it determination. Call it hunger. Call it killer instinct. Whatever you want to call it, it is what often separates winners from losers. Without it, you cannot win consistently.

Case in point: Last year, in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Raps led by as many as 22 points in the third quarter. This should have been enough to allow them to coast to a victory, right? Wrong. Not only did they lose the game, they gave up the lead while still in the third quarter! That was the night that Kobe Bryant scored his historic 81 points, handing the Raps a hard-to-swallow 104-122 loss.

So, the question now is what will Raptors do tonight in Washington? Really, it shouldn't matter. The Wizards have only won seven games all season. But the Raptors have lost to such teams before. It's a tough call. They may win by 20 or maybe lose by 10. Here's my prediction: Raps will build a sizable lead--perhaps 15 points. In the end, it will be a nail-biter that will see them narrowly squeak out a 3-point win.