Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post Game - OZ

Where was mighty Jake Voskuhl? The Raps needed him to set some hard picks and set the tone.

I wonder what the odds are on 4 straight losses? Probably 1.1-to-1?

Bargs brought it. He was one of the few... don't look at his shooting stats for the second half because he was going at Charlie, trying to get him in even more foul trouble, but couldn't get the calls. That charge the ref called on him was absurd. That call was the catalyst to the collapse... but give Bargs credit... even after the charge he kept driving at CV... still no calls.

The refs were terrible... but it was nice to see Bargs recognizing his march-up, and attack him. It was nice to see him bring it after the the Nets game. I was curious to see how he would respond.

Great synopsis Howland. There was no fire and no passion until the end of the game. Nothing. And the pressure D from the Bucks had the Raps running for their mommies.

Calderon trying to get the fans into it when they made their move to bring it under 10 was pretty ballsy considering the lack of intensity and passion the Raps had put forth up til then.

Sooooooooooo many outside shots. And when the drives happened there was absolutely nobody crashing the glass! Nobody! Ugh.

Bosh looked tentative, the jump shooters like Parker were driving against two guys and putting up tough jumpers instead of hitting Bargs open for the 3. The only times they hit him were when the double didn't materialize. Ugh.

This team did NOT show up tonight. End of story.

Time for laps and burpies.

ouch

Bosh has been a jump shooter for some time now. If I had the choice I would trade Him and keep JO at least JO has balls!

Why are the good teams good? Their best players make the right decisions. Their best players understand what's going on in the game and impose their will on the situation, drawing fouls, passing to the hot hand, intimidating simply by the force of their talent. Andrea Bargnani is emerging as the most gifted offensive player on the team. There are certain things one notices from watching carefully -- Bargnani's offense comes easier, more variety, and he has shown some nice touch in terms of passing in the past. I think what's happening here is that Chris Bosh has this notion that to be considered the best player on the team he has to take the most shots, score the most points, even when he might serve the team better in a different form. Everyone raved about his game in the Olympics because he showed something with respect to the other aspects of the game. Maybe it's time to cede the primary scorer's role to Bargnani, design the offense around him and what he enables and suggest to Chris that he can elevate this team by focusing on the intangibles and defense. As the team evolves those two players will have to take ownership of both ends of the court. One of them is going to have to focus on being the defensive focal point and the other the offensive focal point in order for this team to reach an elite level.

WOW WOW WOW SO PISSED!!!! The raptors came out flatter than an asian woman with a breast reduction. End of story.

WOW WOW WOW repugnantly racist and sexist all in one post. Congratulations for lower the level of this fine blog.

Depressing.What a let down to their fans.
Bosh must protect the ball better if he wants to take that next step. He sure didn't play like an allstar. Wasn't just last night, he's been getting stripped all season. I don't mind when he takes the open jumper, thats his game and he shoots a good percentage but just hold on to the f#*ken ball!

BTW, Heard you guys on a Podcast with the bozo from RapRep. You guys came across so much better than your interviewer(don't even know his name). Nice of you guys to help out the B league. Maybe they can learn from you.
Wouldn't be a bad idea for you guys to do an odd podcast. Give your regular readers some notice and set it up as a call in.

For any team, there are two basic aspects, talent(heart, IQ, pride etc) and system (offense, defence, coaching). You can say a team has reached it's peak of performance when talent has gotten the most out of the system and the system has gotten the most out of the talent. Today's Raps have limited talent but it is not clear that the system is right. One critical part of their system is the isolation of Bosh on one side. It is during this time that three bad things often happen, (1)the rest of them stand and watch and (2) Bosh is pushed out and forced to become a jump shooter,(3)ball movement stops. Until that aspect of their system is changed, they will not reach their potential.
Finally, the system is not established to take advantage of Kapono. This simply means that the ball goes into the post and stays
too often. There is no kick out from the post and there is no "drive and kick" As much as I like Triano, there is something wrong that this has not been corrected.
On the defensive end, they seem unable to recognize who is hurting them in any particular game. An opposing player like Ray Allen might scorch them with five threes in a row and still they will sag off and help rather than protect the perimeter. They did the same thing when Mitchell was there , so maybe it's a lack of IQ.

I appreciate how Triano had the balls to blame himself for taking out a scorching hot Bargnani in the 1st quarter. It's nice to see some accountability. I understand trying to dole out enough minutes for your three bigs, but when a guy is lights out and is essentially undressing CV31 with various moves, he should not be coming off the court. Bosh should have been substituted off first. He was unable to do anything against an inferior Charlie V. It kind of spoke volumes to see Bosh struggling against Charlie and settling for jumpers and then a not yet polished Bargs taking it to him in many different ways. I have always loved Bosh, but he has become complacent. I admit that his shot has improved, which should be just another weapon in his arsenal. Instead, he is using it as his first, second and third option. JO had to stay in the game because he was getting into a groove and whether he gets traded or not, it is essential that pre-injury JO gets back to his old form. Not to mention, the tough defense and attitude that he brought to the game.

I am not too concerned about losing one game. The team is still very fragile blah blah blah. The only real concern I have is the play of Bosh lately. He just isn't playing like a franchise player. I believe that he is the reason that we are not where we should be this season. I am not jumping off the Bosh bandwagon, but I am a very concerned fan right now.

Interloper - you are right on.

"There are certain things one notices from watching carefully -- Bargnani's offense comes easier, more variety, and he has shown some nice touch in terms of passing in the past. I think what's happening here is that Chris Bosh has this notion that to be considered the best player on the team he has to take the most shots, score the most points, even when he might serve the team better in a different form. Everyone raved about his game in the Olympics because he showed something with respect to the other aspects of the game. Maybe it's time to cede the primary scorer's role to Bargnani, "

Amen! That is our future.

Re: packing the paint defense.

I don't have the stats in front of me, but I believe that opposing teams, more often than not, shoot a higher 3% percentage against us than their season averages. The reason is obvious as the Raptors pack the paint. The problem with that is that as Rt says is that you can get burned from outside.

I think Triano needs to bone up on some advanced statistics. On basketball reference, there is a stat called true shooting % which takes into account the fact that a 3-point field goal is more valueable than a 2-point one. Although teams are shooting a lower REGULAR field goal percentage against the Raps versus when Mitchell coached, It's likely the case that they are shooting a higher TRUE shooting %, which is more dangerous.

Triano needs to pound it into his head that he has to adjust if teams are burning the Raptors from the outside.

Triano isn't a good enough coach for this team...that's the bottom line.

Ok reading this in the paper this morning almost made me spit up my coffee! I'm officially in the "Colangelo Hater Camp" (I believe we are up to "camp E" now). Here's the quote from Feschuck's article today:

"`Maybe," Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo was saying earlier this week, "the roster wasn't as flawed as everybody wanted to say it was flawed."

REALLY!! So this broken team wins three in a row (the last one in New Jersey should have been a loss) and Colangelo is vindicating himself eventhough this team sits at 19 and 29 eventhough we are fully capped out!!! I couldn't believe it... So he initially blamed coaching and fired Mitchel. Fine. I could go with the argument that maybe a new voice was necessary. But there is no excuse left. To think that he could say something like that at this stage of the season SCARES THE CRAP OUT OF ME! I think Colangelo is more interested in saving his reputation and image than fixing the flaws with his roster. End of rant...

I think everyone needs to take what Colangelo says with a grain of salt. There's going to be stuff said to increase the marketability of players and such, and it does him no good to undercut his bargaining position by saying this team sucks.

But regarding Bosh, it was a year ago that I mentioned that I wished that the one thing Bosh worked on was his ball handling skills. Every year, he comes back with improvements in just about every area except this one. Perhaps it IS because he's not getting the calls, but without a post-up game, (and let's face it, he doesn't have one) he's either had to settle for outside jumpers, or drive and possibly lose the ball. If he takes outside jumpers, we yell at him to take the ball to the basket. When he takes the ball to the basket, he doesn't get calls and gets a turnover. I don't want to make excuses for the guy, but something has to change because this scenario won't until he gets either a new weapon, or starts getting the calls a perennial all-star should be getting.

Regarding Bosh, I recommend people read this blog post by Grange.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/wbbasketball/

Tinman,if I remember correctly weren't you a regular poster on the bozo's site ?
I also listened to the interview,and as correct as you were,you didn't need to add the bozo comment.
I actually enjoy reading the dif blogs,and getting insight from all the different levels of bb iq.
I don't always agree,I have no problems with the f bombs from time to time (sorry kids).
but thats what makes the various reads interesting.
If I wanted 2% milk,I would watch raptor tv.

Toronto is in a parculiar situation. For the past number of years ,Bosh has been touted as the "franchise player" for the Raps. He has gladly accepted that role and all the adulation that goes with it. I'll bet that mentally, he will never accept a change in that status. So Bargnani's rise and the fact that he could soon be a more dominate player presents a problem. Up until recently, most of the fan base have been shocked and intolerate to any suggestion of trading Bosh. I have never understood this attitude, after all Jabbar, Shaq, Kidd, Nash, etc, etc were traded. Bosh will never bring more in return than he can right now. He is going to want a huge paycheque when his contract is up which will likely handcuff Toronto in many ways. I would say keep Oneal, move Bargani to the 4 spot where is more comfortable anyway and get a couple of good young scorers. I don't know all the player situations but a deal with Portland to get some players, in particular "Bayless" would be a smart move as far as I'm concerned.

RT...

Somebody else thinking like Me! Hell they even traded somebody with a 99 on His back didn't they? What makes Bosh untouchable! Keeping JO trading Bosh could make for a very nice team. Downside JO staying on the floor which He has not done so far

I really want to believe Bosh is a franchise player, but c'mon. If I didn't know he got 18pts, I would have guessed he didn't even hit double digits, based on watching the whole-game performance. He was just bad, bordering on a detriment to the team (ala Mr. Moon). I really don't think anybody other than Bargs currently sits on the untouchables list. More and more it is clear, no one is sure where this guy will top out (side note: I don't want apologies from Triano about taking him out after the 1st, that is just plain stupid). Simultaneously, it is becoming crystal clear that Bosh has VC-esque fluctuations in his on-court intensity (beyond the never-ending stream of jump-shots, did anybody else think, "I don't remember the last time I saw Bosh make a statement stuff" when he did last an imitation of one last night).

Tinman -

Thanks for the complement but we give props where props are due and the guys at RR are doing a bang-up job. By putting a bunch of blogs together they have but a nice site together and one that we like interacting with.

Oh yeah, and MAS, I am totally on-board with your interpretation of BC's comments (as opposed to Vicious D). Can we please stop thinking BC has an ace up his sleeve. It's like trusting the captain of a ship that your vessel is not sinking, while the water is rising past your shoulders. The man has made some poor judgments and realizes his next few moves will not only determine whether he is TO for a while longer, but whether he gets another GM job in the foreseeable future. He is desperate, and trying to pitch this team as an under-performing juggernaut.

Branden - It has nothing to do with having an ace up his sleeve. It has everything to do with the power of negotiation. If you go into a room, telling everyone that you need help, the team has huge problems, and we need to unload contracts, other teams will try and figure a way to pick you apart. People will try and unload their bad contracts on you in order to get something of value back. It's a matter of negotiation tactics, and why I never take what Colangelo has to say at face value. We've heard it before in the off season how he is critical of teams he places on the court. I don't believe for one second that he's as deluded to say "oh, we're doing great, and we don't need a trade anymore". We're talking about a GM who has never been gunshy about making moves, managing his budget and making sure that he gets flexible contracts in return. I can't imagine what we would get back if he simply said our team sucks and needs a complete overhaul. If you tell people that our players are under performing, you might get other GMs to see your team in that way as well.

Maybe (and let's just use this as an example) Miami decides that Jason Kapono was a more important part of their team a few years ago than they cared to admit and more importantly, believe that they need him more than the Raptors do. How does it help your negotiation process to undercut the value of your player by saying he's not good, can't defend, etc? It all comes down to understanding your position of power.

I am NOT a Colangelo apologist my any means. I've been very critical of his Jermaine O'Neal trade and still am. However, I don't believe he's as horrible as many people see him to be. Has he made mistakes? Yes. But most GMs do anyways. The question always has to be if a GM puts himself in a position to get himself out of those mistakes that makes them valuable. I believe he has. I'm just waiting to see what his next moves will be.

Guys and gals,
I can totally understand your frustration with Bosh especially after a jump shot happy, 7 turnover performance. But have a read of the Grange blog post that I linked to above. I think that there is merrit to the argument that due to the way this team is built and the way in turn the team's deficiencies limit the creativity that can be employed in our offensive sets. Teams can basically sit in Bosh's lap and force him into being a jump shooter. If thre were more creative players on this team at the wing spots, that put a bit more preasure on the defense, things would not be such a challenge for CB4.

Think about this simple point: How many times does Bosh get easy baskets based on another teammate breaking down the D? Forwards, like Amare Stoudamire, KG, Duncan and Nowitzki all get easy baskets all the time due to the creativity and aggressiveness of their teammates. That doesn't happend for Bosh, so he is forced to manufacture everything.

Branden, I hear you, last night was definately not Bosh's most inspired game. However, I don't think it is fair to compare him to the gutless Vince Carter. That might be taking it a bit to far no? But you are definately right regarding his shot blocking. This is definately an area I expected more from Bosh this season. I have always felt that he concedes way to many lay-ups in the paint.

i couldnt agree more. bosh needs to go, maybe not this season but definitely next. its not just because of this game or the last few games where he struggled, but i've been thinking about this for quite a while now. bosh is a great player but the year of 2010 where all the great/good players are free to negotiate with other teams scares me, a lot. lets face it, many teams are gonna come after bosh (possibly the best pf in the free agency market) and well because hes playing here in toronto. if we trade bosh we can get something valuable back in return. a good sf/sg and a big, and a couple of drafts picks will certainly be enough to get this team goin. Portland seems like a good team to trade with, aswell as detroit or others. all im sayin is that, i know many of you think im crazy for wanting to trade bosh, but please, you must, at least, consider it, or look at the options and possible trades that are possible to happen. lets face it, this team sucks. keeping bosh and having to give a an extremely expensive salary just to keep him, and only him, is going to kill us in the long run. he is not a franchise player, but a great addition to any team that already consists of stars. we need depth and more players with greater talent (if and when we trade bosh) will help us more than having just bosh and scrubs on the bench. i love the dude, but this team wont have enoguh to keep him. i just hope BC knows what he's doing and is going to make this team much, much better next season. bargnani is the future, and trading bosh for other good players, specifically sg and sf, to surround andre and calderon will be a greater improvement, im sure.

also, i never liked the Cv trade for ford, and now im hating it even more. i just hope to get the big smooth back in toronto

Vicious, that would be correct if BC was talking in terms of individual talent. But he was not. His intent was to comment on the construction of this roster as a whole. You can always say that the pieces may not mix, or their may not be the best chemistry etc. etc. But he didn't he said "the roster wasn't as flawed as everybody wanted to say it was flawed."

And considering the context (this failed season) I think the statement was more about "I was right" than a shrewd PR move. If BC truely thinks he is going to gain any leverage by statements like that then he's got himself fooled.

I'm done giving BC the benefit of the doubt.

oh right put atlanta as another possibility to trade for with bosh. im dreaming her but if a deal such as horford and josh smith and possible draft picks for bosh i do it in a heartbeat. hmmmmm... success. bosh will likely stay in atlanta, he did play for geogia tech, and hed be a great player to a team conisisting of joe johnson and mike bibby. its a win, win for both teams. maybe i should be a gm....lol on fantasy

oh I had great hopes yesterday early in the eve. flush with a raps 3 game winning streak (not wholly deserving, but whatever) I placed myself in camp C right here at the HQ, and was ready for a night of shits and giggles. then of course the raps go out and get their balls handed back to them on a fruit platter with non-edible flowers on it.

yes, this game kinda reminds of a hypothetical situation where an ex cheats on you, then begs and begs and literally stalks you to take her back...which you ultimately do.

not the smartest move.

yup, so now I think I'm going to start calling the 2008/09 version of the raptors 'Stacey'. (hypothetically, of course.)

so the question is: why does 'Stacey' want to hurt me so bad? and why do I keep letting 'Stacey' hurt me so bad?? Just leave me alone Stacey!!! I mean Raptors...

Anyone remembers Caliper test? The one where Bosh scored very low and Bargnani scored off the charts? The one that was derided by a lot of people for predicting that Bosh will never be a great player whereas Bargnani may end up being one of the best 8-10 Centers in NBA's history? I believe now a lot of people start to see the predictive potential of this test. I believe everyone agrees now that Bosh is a soft, un-clutch, fading player in key games and key match-ups (yesterday he went to help Elson after JO bumped RJ and Elson fell over RJ - champions never do that) whereas Bargnani is becoming a tough, strong SOB, ready to roll as first option (yesterday triano went crazy by not playing the hot hand however bargnani in the 3rd Q still tried to take it isnide and draw contact at every oppt. - unsuccessful but heartfelt).
At this point I'd trade Bosh for an Amar'e or Josh Smith and part ways with him. Both parties reached an end of the road and it's best to for us to get the most out of it. A line-up of Jose, AP, Marion, Amar'e and Bargnani would be something interesting to watch.

I hope Tomorrow after Bosh drop 30 and 12 we still want to trade him.

Yes he did have a bad game, and yes CB4 is to blame for this lost but calm down people he still a consistence 24-10 guy and there are few of those in the league.

I totally agree Bosh should have sit is turn-off, jump shooting moth****** //censored//censored// ass on the bench but the coaching staff allowing to still play on sub out AB. Not a smart move.

Still its only one bad game. Give the guy a friggin break. It not like you Raptors and Toronto Fan don't depend on him to perform night in and night out which he does but my o my last night was bad

He will bounce back and we will beat the Magic and CB4 will have 30 + points and 12 rebound.

To trade Bosh for Josh Smith, I know Tea Time is angry but come on really are you serious!?!

Anyways CB4 is what he is set up defender with a few jump shoot than pump fake a drive to the hole. If the jump shoot is not drooping then he is force to create and with is below average ball handle skills it create turnover. If he works on ball handling skills and a few back to the basket move then he will be untouchable.

Until then lets hope we get a SF you can create for him self and don't really and Bosh to do it.

Some stats

PER (Player efficiency rating, higher = better, league average is normalized to 15)

Bosh: 22.6
Calderon: 19.8

Now on to the wings

Moon: 14.6
Parker: 12.4
Graham: 11.6
Kapono: 9.0

Wing average: 11.9

I think we know where the problem is and has been for the entire year.

I don't think you can trade Bosh, at this stage, for any real value. Teams know we are limping and no one is going to give you value for him. Oneal is a different story. 20 Mil in cap space is nothing to sneeze at next year when everyone will be playing the "Superstar's Musical Chairs" routine. I suspect that is the real reason that Miami is interested in acquiring ONeal as he gives them their best chance to field a competitive team and still leave them with Money when Wade becomes a free agent.
My faith in BC has wained over the last year or so as I have been confused by his moves over and over again. He takes a lot of risks and that is fine but too often they seem to blow up in his face and I am sceptical about whether he has the testies to actually make any moves to correct the ship before it sinks. Sorry but I have made no bones about the fact that I felt that he has not pulled the rabbit out of his hat like he did in Phoneix and if he isn't doing that then what is the point? I know some people will say that there is no one else out there who could do a better job but when I said the same thing about Smitch people still called for his head. Maybe they were right and maybe I am right now. There are only a few more weeks until the trade deadline and I do not see anything (other than the allegded Marion trade) coming to change things up (I am not convinced Marion will help other than allowing Bargnani to play without Oneal cutting into his minutes).

Hi guys,
I may sound as a broken record but, also in light of the discussion above, would you still take the risk of trading Oneil if you are unsure (and you all are) that Bosh is going to stay? Moreover is a Bargs + Bosh necessarily more effective than a Oneil + Bargs combo?
In addition to that, in two years time (2011 season) which of the two would be cheaper and would hence leave you with the flexibility to sign other valuable players?
Personally if I were BC I would offer an extension to both Oneil and Bosh, sign the first of the two who is going to accept and trade the other one.

Jordanfanatic, one bad game? Are you watching the Raptors? My wife, who's a casual fan, is asking me why is Bosh playing so disinterested? He has Jose, Andrea and JO and what can we show for it?
I'm not saying by all means that it's all his fault or he's not a very good player. All I'm saying is that it comes a time when your franchise player has to take responsibility for what's happening with the franchise. So far this season is a mess and Bosh is the main reason for it. It may not be fair however this is life: when you are the face of an organization everyone else will judge you based on the organization's success or failure.
I am scared by the idea of paying Bosh max. money. From a b-ball point of view it doesn't make any sense. From a business point of view it might make more sensse but then we'll be the same as Maple Leafs.

You guys have to see the JO post game interview. It's one of the many reasons I don't want JO to go (even though I understand that he has to). When has another player challenged the refs like that. I really love the ending where he comments about how Charlie V shouldn't be fronting him. How it's one thing to act tough when the cameras are on and another to actually be tough (paraphrasing here). It's his smirk and swagger that I love the most. Anyway, here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE3g5-O7Esw&feature=related

OK I might off been optimistic and a little bit of a CB4 defender but let clarify a few things.

1 – Bosh is not a Franchise player and will he will never going to be one. He has the talent and capability to be an all-star player for years after years but not a franchise player. He just does not have the fire and leadership to be one.

Toronto Raptors fan and media are guilty of creating a role of a guy which he is not suited for. After the Olympics were he was not rely on to score so all his effort was put on defense (which he was the highlight of a few games) the media and fans thought we find a new emerging defensive player of the year and he was suppose to lead us to the promise land with is new persona and leadership. Realities check Bosh was a star among greater star, yes he did gain valuable experience but that’s it. He still has lot and lot of room to grow.

2. – Bosh is an all-star not a superstar. At the beginning of the season I had countless argument at work and school justifying why CB4 is just an all-star. There are few players we can consider to be a superstar and this is after years in the league, show passion, fire and leadership with the will to win. There are also the most talented if not best at their position and they MAKE other PLAYERS AROUND THEM BETTER. These guys are the most hardworking and lead by example. A few names Duncan (best PF in the history of the NBA argue if you want I would love to back this one up), KG, Kobe, Lebron James and you can make a strong argument for Wade and CP3. BOSH DOES NOT BELONG TO THIS GROUP. I could explain why but I won’t because if you watch these guys play and watch Bosh you will see for yourself …. Oh yea and AI as good as he his is not a superstar.

This is not a knock on CB4. I’m a big fan of Chris. Chris is a 24 year old all-star who has the POTENTIAL to become a superstar with hard work and experience. At this point in his career he is just all-star and that it. He is not our leader and definitely not a superstar.

The raptors are guilty of given the leadership superstar role to the best player on the team. We gave this role to Vince and he was not ready and we can even go back to Damon we give this role to him and he was not ready. Let look at the facts…

We all know Bosh is not clutch; you can make the argument that he is a 6, 11 big man force to create but the fact still remains when a basket his needed at the end of the game, end of the quarter or a bucket to break a run Bosh is just anti-clutch. BUT WHY DOES THE COACH STILL DRAW PLAYS TO GIVE BOSH THE BALL AT THESE CRITICAL POINT IN THE GAME??? Even when AP or AB is on fire??? And this all fall in my above argument trying to give a guy a role which he is not suited for YET!!!

Bosh is an alternate All Star in the East !!!

2nd quarter Bosh starting to get some minor booing. Deserving so Jump shot after Jump shot.

does anyone else think it would be a better idea to trade bosh before 2010 instead of trying to resign him?...honestly am i the only one? cause he seems disinterested these days and he settles for jump shots far too often..throw in his careless turnovers and you have a player that does not help this team right now. why not move him and get a lot of good pieces back instead of letting him walk in 2010...even if we could resign him..i dont really want them too.

over already!!they are toying with the raps

This team is really bad. Bosh should shave that ugly mop, because I thinks it's getting in his way. He just turns it over. He gets the ball so far away from the basket. This is honestly a really sad day. They are so shitty, it's unbelievable.
I like Triano, I'm sure he knows all kind of basketball. But I think this group of coaches maybe just aren't the right group to change these guys bad habits. They need a coach that forces them to be better players, and defend and play with intensity. Calderon is a great guy running the point, and Joey and Bargs are doing great. But it's just a little too stagnant. We really do need some new coaching. That's just my opinion. I like Jay, but I just don't know anymore. Love this site.

I had no idea Jamario considers himself a 'back-court player'. That's news to me considering he doesn't seem to mind letting anybody blow by him when on D.

I wouldn't trade Bosh. He's a lock on our 4 position.

We just need and equal punch from the wings. Until then we are staying right where we are.

I don't mind watching these games - it's Leo Rautins who is really getting to me...

Please please get rid of him....

anyone else get the feeling that bosh is starting to give up on this team?

http://raptorsrepublic.com/blog/2009/02/01/sas-bosh-tells-colangelo-he-will-not-resign-trade-discussions-ongoing/

Wow Paul

That should make for some interesting posts.....If true it's too bad they did not trade Him before the New Year.

Now the asking price has to be lower!

Thanks for the tip Paul. The phrase "Steven A Smith Reports" doesn't really help the story, he needs to come up with a pen name or something.

Axl, I REALLY hope your last comment wasn't some sort of eerie premonition.

Its not Halloween but things sure got real spooky round the HQ.

Some sober second thought, and I'm gonna take a step back from this rumour. I really don't want this to turn into one of those "I'll hurt him by booing before he hurts me by leaving" type things. I'm cheering every player that rocks the Raptor Red until the day they don't, Bosh included. That doesn't mean they are immune from criticism, just that the criticism shouldn't be based on fear and insecurity. As a writer for a major sports website, I dare you to find a better way to increase your hit rate then expressing a controversial opinion on the Raptors. Given our collective web presence, I'm surprised the team isn't namechecked by every major columnist out there.

yardly - it just seems like he's not focused, not having fun playing basketball, not willing to strap the old saddle on for any length of time. On top of that he just seems like permanently tired...

I have to say that I am NOT questioning Bosh's heart, I'll follow this guy onto the next team and the next... It is just not working here and now...

axl,

Didn't mean to give the impression that you (or anyone else) was providing any undue criticism. Just thought we were in for a wave of flybuy "sky is falling" commments, and I thought my first post was alarmist enough to qualify.

Watching Bosh, it does seem like he's wondering around with a weight attached to his leg. I got the same feeling when I saw D. Wade play for Miami last year. It's human nature to be frustrated when even despite your best efforts your team just continues to lose. I think is is part of what fuels BC's urgency to make a move. Another season of poor performance in 2010, and I think any temporary disillusionment with the Raptors would become chronic.

I wouldn't doubt if Bosh has already given BC the nod to move him if possible. Bosh's pride and ego have been bruised and he seems to be quietly calling out the fans to help loosen the chains the organization has tied to him. It's going to be a very sad day if and when we lose Bosh...hard to take when you must admit your team is the NBA farm team.