Every Christmas, there's a nice little twist regarding every columnist's favorite NBA team or the whole league.

For the Raptors, there's not really much of a Christmas this year, with the team reeling (3-10 in its last thirteen games, including an ugly loss in Oklahoma City, of all places).

It would be simple enough to write a cute little piece on what each Raptor should want for Christmas, like how Jermaine O'Neal must just want to be healthy for once. 'Tis the season, though, and 'tis not a season to be over-analyzing a team that's woefully below its lofty preseason expectations.

Jay Triano became the first ever Canadian NBA head coach recently, which was nice. Sure, the team is 3-8 with him at the helm, and Chris Bosh has been slumping miserably. As a proud Canadian who liked having him in charge of the national team, I really hope he succeeds in this new capacity.

Coming off a blowout win in Los Angeles (which sounds really impressive until you realize the Raptors were playing the Clippers), there might be hope yet. O'Neal and Bosh are arguably the game's best four/five tandem.

Which brings me to something that fans are taking for granted.

There's been considerable doubt facing the blockbuster this past summer that brought O'Neal to town, but the fact remains that he's the best center this team's ever had. When he manages to stay on the court, it's great to watch.

Rather than play a converted forward (Antonio Davis) or a lottery bust (Aleksandar Radojevic, Rafael Araujo), there's a seven-footer on the court that's making a concerted effort to get to the basket and play defense in the post. Hakeem Olajuwon was doing something of the sort but was so poorly conditioned he couldn't stay on the court. A top young prospect to this team was once Mamadou N'Diaye.

There's also the rest of the league. On Saturday, the Raptors played against the San Antonio Spurs, the best basketball franchise of the last decade. O'Neal and Bosh each outrebounded Tim Duncan, the game's best big man, which was nice to see. The Raptors lost, of course, but they're sharing a league with that team.

Think of Thunder fans, many of whom are perfectly content to watch their team struggle at a record pace just because they're so happy to have a team. Better yet, think of Sonics' fans. While they're stewing over the Seahawks' lackluster season, the Raptors are playing against some of the best teams in the world.

I got to see the Hornets in the flesh a couple Sundays ago at the Air Canada Centre -? people can't do that in Seattle anymore, or in many North American urban centers.

Obviously, no one's happy with mediocrity, and the Raptors have raised fears of being on a treadmill. Even so, the team has distinct bright spots in Bosh and O'Neal, and is the only NBA team outside of the United States. The maple leaf on the jersey might not be representing Canada the way we want it to at the moment, but it's still representing the country on basketball's highest pro stage.

Even during these tumultuous days of losing, uncertainty regarding Bosh's free-agent leanings, and de-Smitching (Oxford: call me), the team's remained competitive.

During the team's recently-snapped five-game losing streak, the team never lost by more than ten points, consistently being only three or four possessions behind the opponent. That's no source for pride, but it certainly tops the 132-93 shellacking the team faced in Denver.

For many teams, humiliation is a way of life; it hasn't become one yet for the 2008-09 Raptors, and as the schedule becomes softer, there's no reason to think that they'll suddenly start losing by twenty every game.

That's the main reason for hope: the prospect of not having to play a tough game every night.

While the Oklahoma City loss was inexcusable, many of the others were games that the Raptors were expected to lose. Did anyone see them going into Los Angeles (Lakers), Utah, or San Antonio predicting a win?

Part of the beauty of only playing each of those teams twice per season means that the Raptors won't be back in any of those places until 2009-10. They've already played Boston twice despite having two-thirds of the season left to play. Most teams have had an easier ride thus far.

There are still plenty of holes on the Raptors, most notably the utter lack of wing talent and the question of whether Roko Ukic and Will Solomon can combine to be viable backup point guards.

Until at least some problems are addressed through trades, free agency, or the draft, the team will have significant weaknesses. That's not even considering the continuing problems with softness and lack of accountability that have plagued the team for years.

Those problems shouldn't be the main subject on Thursday. The Raptors aren't as good as they'd like to be, and no one's more frustrated about it than they are.

Toronto doesn't have that bad a team, though, and the city does have a team. More importantly, Christmas isn't a time for contemplating poorly-executed inbound plays or picking apart Jose Calderon's putrid defense.

It's a time for family, friends, and merriment. If you celebrate Christmas, have a very Merry Christmas indeed. If you don't, the Hornets are playing the Magic, and the Lakers are playing the Celtics as part of the NBA's five-game lineup, its most since 1979.

Whether it's over a turkey (or goose) or in front of Hollywood's team scrambling to stop the reigning Finals MVP, there are many enjoyable ways to spend Christmas.

May you find one of them, and stop thinking about the Raptors...until they go to Sacramento on Friday night.