Raptors and Indiana: The Huge Trade

Toronto Raptors vs. Indiana Pacers

The Canadian and American media are similar and different in a number of ways. Ever since Canada and America have both existed there has been major difference in the way each country has run itself and the way media is presented throughout each country. These similarities and differences can be found everywhere from politics to the way we speak. In this essay I will be discussing the similarities and differences between two National Basketball League (NBA) teams, the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers.

The Toronto Raptors hail from Toronto, Ontario and are currently the only Canadian team in the NBA. They are one of five teams in the Atlantic Division which is part of the Eastern Conference. The Raptors have not won a conference title or a championship yet, but have made it to the first round of the playoffs the last two years, losing both times. The only title Toronto has managed to win in its 13 year history is a division title in the 2006-2007 season. Several experts are predicting that Toronto will be a major contender this year with the addition of six time NBA All-star Jermaine O’Neal who was acquired from the Indiana Pacers in the recent off season. The Toronto Raptors have amazing fan bases which, over the last two years, have filled the Air Canada Centre to over 90 percent capacity. This has helped make Toronto one of the top ticket sales teams in the NBA. Toronto attracts many fans with different backgrounds and cultures; a reason for this is Toronto’s very diverse team. The Toronto Raptors have players from a total of five different countries including: America, Spain, Italy, Australia, and Croatia. Over thirty percent of Toronto’s players are not American which is a very high percent considering that the NBA is dominated by American players. Last year the Raptors ended the 2007-2008 season with a record of 41 wins and 41 loses and made the playoffs. This put them second in their division and sixth in the Eastern Conference. In the playoff, they were ousted by the Orlando Magic in the first round, losing the series four games to one. The Toronto Raptors hope to go deep into the playoffs this year and prove that they are for real.

The Indiana Pacers, like the Raptors, are also an NBA team. The Pacers are based in America and come from Indianapolis, Indiana. The Indiana Pacers are a member of the Central division which is in the Eastern Conference of the NBA. The Pacers have managed to win one conference title, in 2000, and four division titles but have never captured an NBA championship since they joined the NBA in 1976. Indiana has not made the playoffs since the 2005-2006 season and the team has been on a steady decline in performance since then. Many people believe that the Indiana Pacers will be better then last year and may make the playoffs if things go their way. To try and improve their playoff chances, the Pacers acquired T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, and Maceo Baston from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for their franchise player Jermaine O’Neal in the off season. The Pacers have the worst fan base in all of the NBA, they are last in the league in ticket sales at around 12, 000. To make things even worse, not all of those who purchase tickets come to the game, this leaves Indiana with a league low attendance of around 10,000. The Pacers ended the 2007-2008 season with a record of 36 wins and 46 loses, this placed them third in their division and ninth in their conference. All the Indiana Pacers are trying to do in this upcoming season is improve and gain experience because they are a young team and are currently in a rebuilding phase.

The Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers are two teams that have many things in common and a number of differences between them. Similarities that can be found between the Raptors and Pacers are that they are both NBA teams and are in the Eastern conference of the league. Another trait these two teams share is the inability to capture an NBA Championship title, but both teams have captured at least one division title in their team history. The one thing that makes these teams more alike than anything else is a trade. On July 9, 2008 the Indiana Pacers traded Jermaine O'Neal to the Toronto Raptors for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, and Maceo Baston. This means that when next season starts the Pacers will have three players, including an All-Star, from the Raptors 2007-2008 season roster playing for their new look team. The Raptors are left with Indiana’s former franchise player, Jermaine O’Neal, which led the Pacers though the great times and the horrible moments. Differences that are found between the Raptors and Pacers include that they are in different divisions, Indiana has won a Conference title, and Toronto managed to get more wins, 41 compared to 36, in the 2007-2008 season, along with this fact comes the expectation that Toronto is going to be better than Indiana this year. The two big differences that set these teams apart are fan base and team diversity. Toronto has an amazing fan base making them one of the league leaders in ticket sales, while Indiana is dead last in ticket sales and attendance. Toronto attracts over 18,000 fans to each of their home games and Indiana is lucky if they get 10,000 fans a game. Indiana’s team is not very diverse at all, they have one player who is not American, this equals out to a measly 5.5 percent of non American players on Indiana’s team. On the other hand, Toronto has four players from a country other than America giving them over thirty percent of non American players on their roster. The last difference is the most obvious, the Toronto Raptors are a Canadian team and Indiana is an American team.

In conclusion, Toronto and Indiana are similar in many ways, with former players of each team playing for the other team, and different, with Toronto having one of the largest fan bases in the NBA and Indiana with the smallest. A number of these similarities and differences are likely affected by the American and Canadian media but it is hard to find hard evidence to support this. In the end, the Canadian and American media will always be different in many ways as well as the same, and that will never change.