Davis will be ‘devastated’ if the Raptors don’t get a playoff run this season
TORONTO — Terence Davis was enjoying a rookie campaign well beyond his own expectations. After going undrafted, Davis felt feeling lucky just to be with the Toronto Raptors when they opened the season, and figured he’d spend much of the year in the G League with Raptors 905.
But, by the time COVID-19 shut down the National Basketball Association on March 11, the athletic rookie had played in all 64 games for the Raptors, and had fans loudly irate that he wasn’t selected for the rookiesophomore game at all-star weekend.
If the NBA can’t salvage the remainder of the season, Davis said he won’t be sad for the illustrious complete rookie year that could have been. What’s really got him down is the prospect of no thrilling post-season run.
“I wouldn’t feel cheated because there was other rookies that were having great years, better years than I’m having. It wouldn’t be fair to them either,” Davis said on a conference call Wednesday — seven weeks ago to the day that the league shut down.
“I wouldn’t be devastated, but I would be a little hurt because you always want to finish what you start. A lot of people didn’t think we would be in the playoffs, and we ended up being No. 2 team in the East, we already had clinched our playoff berth. So that right there, that’s the only thing that I would be devastated by, not playing in the playoffs.”
Despite a revolving door of injuries to key players this season, the Raptors were 46-18 and had just clinched a playoff berth when Utah’s Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus, and the league was suspended hours later.
The down time has had him reflecting on a rookie season that, even without the dream ending of a post-season appearance, was far better than he could have envisioned.
Like Raptors point guard Fred VanVleet, the 22-year-old Davis bet on himself on NBA draft night, turning down some late offers, preferring to try his luck landing a deal during summer league.
His gamble paid off big-time. “Come first game of the year, I’m playing 15 minutes opening night. Like, man, it happened so fast,” said Davis.
The NBA is considering reopening some team practice facilities as of May 8 — at the earliest — under strict rules. Players returning to their home-team markets would have to quarantine before being allowed back in the city, so most Raptors would have to fly back to Canada and go into isolation for two weeks.