As his teammates lined up at the post-game buffet table, Raptors forward Chris Bosh sat in the corner of the visiting team’s locker room, ice taped to both knees, his feet soaking in a bucket of ice water.
"It feels like my feet are on fire," said a dejected Bosh, to no one in particular.
And while his heart was certainly in it, his game-shape and the strength in his legs isn’t quite where it should be, as evidenced by his 7-for-18 shooting. Bosh did finish with 24 points and six rebounds, plus three steals. But against an explosive team such as the Cavaliers, the Raptors needed Bosh firing on all cylinders.
"I almost have my legs back," Bosh said. "I’ll eventually start knocking down some shots. Against the Miami Heat (last Wednesday, where he shot 2-for-10), I was short in every shot. This time, it was just a little bit long. I just know I have to get my legs into it a little bit, get the high arc and get some shots."
It didn’t help having Cavaliers’ centre Anderson Varejao guard him for much of the night. The Brazilian has given Bosh fits in the past, and did so again.
"He’s a slick dude, but I’m starting to figure him out," Bosh said. "I’d love to see him again. He’s a good defensive player, he’s a good rebounder. And you really have to think two steps ahead when you’re playing him, because if you think you’re just going to put your head down and go, he can beat you to that spot. And the referees know he’s trying to take charges."
Bosh could have used a bit of help in the frontcourt against Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace, who left the game in the third quarter with back spasms. But starting centre Andrea Bargnani, coming off a 14-point performance against the Heat, finished with zero points, on 0-for-5 shooting, and just one rebound in 161/2 minutes.
"I wish you’d all come in (the locker room) and do my job," Mitchell told reporters, after being offered up a number of scenarios as to how to guard James.
"Look, he’s going to get the ball, because he can bring it up, and he’s going to spread your defence and he can get to the basket. At a certain point, you just have to hope your defence is good enough and hope he misses some shots," the coach said.
"(And) it’s not like he does it every other night. He does it most nights," Mitchell added. "And the nights he’s making threes, he just makes it even tougher."
Moon, who recorded a career-high 14 rebounds against Miami on Wednesday night, is second among NBA rookies in rebounding, averaging 6.2 per game and moved into second among Toronto rookies, with 397 heading into last night’s game. Chris Bosh holds the rookie record of 557 boards, set during the 2003-04 season.
There was no angst nor anger in the Raptor locker room here last night. Fifth place was gone, another game was lost but the feeling throughout the room was positive.
Not giddy, because it’s hard to be giddy when you lose for the 10th time in 13 games and slip a notch in the Eastern Conference standings, but there were more smiles than long faces in the aftermath of a 90-83 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
From coach Sam Mitchell to Jose Calderon to Chris Bosh to Anthony Parker, the feeling that was emanating from the now sixth-place Raptors was positive.
"I think we played great today," said Calderon. "We moved the ball, we missed wide open shots. When we wanted to run some plays, we ran them. I think we (didn’t) take bad shots tonight. Everybody was open for jump shots, we just have to make (them)."
The Raptors shot just 39 per cent on the night, a measly 4-for-15 from beyond the three-point arc and no matter how proud they are of their defence, that kind of shoddy shooting isn’t going to win any games.
"I liked the shots we got, I liked the people who were taking them and I liked our defence," said Mitchell. "We didn’t put them on the free throw line a lot, we didn’t turn the basketball over.
"I liked the tempo of the game, and I liked the way we played and I liked the shots. It’s disappointing that we lost, but we’re a much better shooting team than we showed."
"We played pretty good defence tonight," said Bosh, who led Toronto with 24 points on a 9-for-18 night from the floor. "We got LeBron to turn the ball over a few times, we got him to take some tough shots but eventually you have to knock some down yourself down the stretch of a game."
Knowing that they could see the Cavs in the first round of the playoffs and knowing they’ve lost the season series 3-1 to Cleveland, the Raptors didn’t leave town feeling like they were vastly over-matched.
"I think so," Bosh said when asked in the Raptors gained some confidence even in defeat. "We’ve come in here and we’ve played them tough two times, we just didn’t pull it out. LeBron always has some pretty good games down the stretch and I think in a seven-game series we have to make him shoot those one-dribble pull-up shots instead of getting to the rim. In a seven-game series, I think it’ll be tough to make those shots."
Q: She’s going to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft. What advice would you have for her?
A: I would say just stay focused. The transition for college to the NBA, or to the WNBA, there’s a lot of things. Her being out in L.A. (the Sparks have the first pick in the draft) there’s a lot of distractions, a lot of things off the court that can come in the way of her focus on the court. I’d say just remember what you’re there for.
Q: Speaking of snowballed, how’s this worst-winter ever treating you?
A: My luck that I would be here. A lot of times, you just look outside and shake your head. You just deal with it, I guess. This is a great, great city but I wish the seasons were reversed so we were here in the summer months.
So, it sixth so horrible? No, not really. Orlando’s probably a better matchup than Cleveland but, I tell you, the Cavs were not that impressive last night. Soon as they made that huge trade, I was saying they weren’t any better, they were just different, and I’m sticking by that assessment now. I know LeBron’s LeBron but no way in the world Cleveland beats Boston in a playoff series.
In a shocking, truly stunning development, you’re killing Sam for leaving T.J. in the game until the final 4 1-2 minutes. Oh, and killing T.J., too, and you know what, it’s really getting tiring.
The only other stoppage when he could have got Ford out was with 6:36 to go and Toronto down three. Of course, he left him in and all Ford did was drill a three and then another bucket to pull Toronto into a tie each time.
So, Ford played two minutes at the end of the third and 7 1-2 to start the fourth. I’ve got no problem with that substitution pattern.
The question is: Will the slumping Raptors right the ship soon enough to regain the No. 5 seed they started the night with? Their loss and a win by the Washington Wizards dropped Toronto to sixth place, which would mean a first-round series against the Orlando Magic. The Raptors’ primary concern is avoiding slipping behind the Philadelphia 76ers into seventh place and a first-round date with the Detroit Pistons.
Though last night was their 10th loss in their past 13 games, the Raptors somehow gained some confidence from it — armour they’ll need with the Denver Nuggets in Toronto tomorrow and the Pistons at home on Wednesday.
"I think we can beat them," Calderon said. "We have to keep working. [Bosh] is just coming back form injury and he will be better for sure in the playoffs, we just have to make shots the next time we are here."
"We got some great looks against this team tonight. I mean great," Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said. "It’s hard to win anytime you shoot 39%. We’re not going to shoot 39% often."
LeBron James, who torched the Raptors for 39 points in a comeback win in January, scored just six points in the first half.
When it mattered most, though, Toronto’s defence on James broke down. Twice midway through the fourth quarter, James beat Anthony Parker off the dribble. But instead of receiving help, Parker was hung out to dry as James glided in for a slam dunk each time.
He had his third dunk of the quarter in transition three possessions later, sending the crowd into a frenzy in Cleveland.
A pair of jumpers later and it was curtains for the Raptors.
So, yes, it was another loss. But the Raptors did get to experience how loud the Cleveland crowd can be in a close game – pretty darned loud – and to see how James can take a game over in the stretch.
"We feel pretty confident if we do meet them again," Anthony Parker said. "I’m sure they’re feeling the way that we feel, that they can win."
The Cavs held the Raptors to 39.5 percent shooting from the field and only four points for the last 4:33.
This was the Cavs’ ninth straight home victory and their 12th victory in 14 games against the Raptors.
Despite that dominance, Toronto guard Jose Calderon said the Raptors could pull off a postseason upset.
"I think we can beat them," said Calderon. "We have to keep working. [Chris Bosh] is just coming back from injury and he will be better for the playoffs."
Two weeks before, Loren Woods was playing in Turkey, living in Istanbul, and had no intentions of joining an NBA team.
By Friday, he was hoping to fill some of the void left by the injury to Yao Ming, practicing against Dikembe Mutombo and going through a game-day shootaround beneath the retired University of San Francisco number of Bill Russell.
"I got back a week and a half ago, but I didn’t plan on all of this happening," said Woods, a 7-2 center. "This is a huge opportunity, a major opportunity, especially on a team like this that’s doing so well in the Western Conference right now. My plans were to finish up everything with the team in Turkey, come home and go back over. But this opportunity came up, and I had to jump on it.
"They’re a great team. For an organization like this to even give me this kind of opportunity, it shows they have some interest in me."
Woods, a second-round pick of the Timberwolves in 2001, averaged 2.6 points and 3.3 rebounds in 208 games with Minnesota, the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors.
Yes, amidst the hoopla there was an entire basketball game and it didn’t disappoint with 14 lead changes and eight ties. With the Raptors nipping at their heels, the Cavs had the chance to take the season series and in the process own a tiebreaker in Eastern Conference playoff seeding.
However, for much of the second half it looked as if the Cavs weren’t willing to pry that advantage from the Raptors. The reason: sporadic play in the third quarter — again.
The Cavs were up by three at the half, 45-42, but Toronto came on in the third quarter, outscoring the Cavs 25-18 and taking a 67-63 lead.
Fortunately for the Cavs, they have the best money player in the league in James. He scored 23 of his points in the second half, including a pivotal 3-point shot to give the Cavs some breathing room at 86-79 with 3:03 left in the game. It’s almost as if the Cavs know that if the game is close after three quarters, they don’t have to worry because James will lift the team on his back and carry it the rest of the way.
He wasn’t alone in his efforts, however. Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas kicked in 16 points and 10 rebounds to lend much needed support and rack up his 26th double-double of the season. Damon Jones added 10 points.
”I thought we put together close to 48 minutes of defense together. To hold that team to 39 percent shooting and 83 points is mind-boggling,” Brown said.
Our best stretch of play came in the third quarter where Calderon and Bosh were playing with great synergy and the Raptors were moving on offense, collapsing on defense and attacking the boards. Although Bosh wasn’t close to being his best, it was made up by Calderon terrorizing Delonte West and finding shooters for clean looks. Watching Jose play in the third, every Raptors fan must’ve been praying for him to continue at the outset of the fourth quarter and carry this team to a win on a night where Bosh was struggling and Bargnani simply sucked. No such luck, Sam intervened and although TJ wasn’t as bad as he’s been of late, he was a big time liability on defense and hit-and-miss on offense. By the time Jose was brought back, he’d been sitting for 25 minutes of real time and was cold. Game over.
I never expected the Raps to win and I happily flipped over to watch some March Madness. But with a few plays here and there, some better coaching moves and some shots going down, the Raptors could of stole that one.
The start of fourth was where the game was decided. Cleveland came on strong as expected but no sign of Jose, who had it going on in the third.
I think my exact quote while watching was “Jose makes my tummy feel better”.
The good teams ride the hot player and don’t care if he gets tired. I never see the Pistons take out RIP or Sheed when they are fire. Phil would never sit anyone on his team if they had it going, so what is Sam doing?
What happens next season?
Will Jose go back to the bench even though even the coach of the Raptors admits he plays better with the current starting five?
And taking that one step further, Mitchell claimed that he didn’t want to risk screwing up the starting line-up’s chemistry by re-inserting TJ. But now that the second unit is screwed up, and Mitchell clearly favours TJ as the starter barring injuries, why wouldn’t he change things back to try and give both units a boost?
I just don’t really understand the logic here. In most other situations, when the best player comes back from injury, the replacement returns to the bench. Mitchell isn’t keeping Rasho and Bargs in as starters now and bringing CB4 off the bench. So if he thinks TJ is the better starter of his two point guards, why is TJ now still coming off the bench?
I’m not saying I’m in favour of one situation over the other, but the more I watch TJ, the more I worry that the Raptors won’t ever be able to take advantage of his strengths in this back-up role. He comes into the game trying to do too much, and just doesn’t seem to be effective right now.
And really, this team needs TJ to be more effective. Watching Lebron last night I was reminded of something Brett from the Bratwurst.com mentioned to us in our TJ chat the other day.
“Even the biggest Ford basher among the Raptor fans has to admit that sometimes he can be unstoppable. Sometimes Ford is the best player on the floor. Not many players can do that, and only the LeBron’s and MJ’s can do it every night.”
He’s right, and for that reason Toronto needs Ford to get back on the top of his game.
Not long ago (during last years playoffs), we (Raptors Nation) was often being regarded as one of the best NBA crowds, obviously after G-State. Now I gotta say most of our fans are people who want to see what all the hype is about. They see it and then they find out they can get some free pizza in the process. That is ridiculous. Some people have worked hard to never miss a Raptors game all season. I watch their games during night classes. I watch their games on the nights before exams or midterms. I watch their games simultaneously with the Leafs games. I’m obviously not the biggest fan, but people like me, we try to support our team no matter what. We won’t boo them because they don’t save our fat asses 4 bucks at the concession stand.
How many of you people actually run to the nearest pizza store after the game to grab the slice? You know what I’ve been to a handful of Raptors games and I don’t even know which pizza store you go to, to get the free pizza. Fans have grown with this team seeing many players leave us out of ignorance. We’ve seen the team that start with Mighty Mouse. We’ve seen the long list of players who refused to report. If we went around the ACC and asked people to name 2 people who refused to report, I’m going to go out on a limb and say not many people in there could. We’ve seen the rise, fall, and emotional rollercoaster ride that is Vince Carter. We saw the amazing performances from AI and VC in that series in 2000-01. We all still wonder what would have happened had he not gone to his graduation. Now we all witness the Bosh era.
Yea its nice to see that people are taking interest in this born again team. It’s nice to see that a couple of teams are making money in Toronto besides the Leafs. It’s nice to see that we got BC putting a great product on the court. But it isn’t nice when people are willing to throw this all away and boo the players and individuals who have worked hard to make such a great team for us to watch.
Call me old school or authoritarian, but I would have gotten some video evidence and banned all those that booed from ever watching a Raptors game again. Seriously, you better not let me catch you doing that. “Not in my town. Not in any one of my Five Towns”.
The Effort was there but the result was not and the ability to stop Lebron James was just not something the Raptors have been able to show for a full 48 minutes. These are the reasons a series vs. James would be a tough task to say the least for the Raptors. Eventually though in the Eastern Conference you will need to have an answer to how to control Leborn James. That is right to say control cause stopping him is near impossible.
Chris Bosh is many things. He’s a left hander, his team’s best player, the most versatile big man in the NBA, and one of the best forwards in the NBA. The only problem is that he plays in Toronto, where hockey is much more appreciated then basketball.
However, I can appreciate his nifty crossovers, ferocious dunking, and his occasional three point shooting. So why can’t the rest of the league?
Q1. With the changes (improvements?) that have been made to the Basketball Operations side of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), since Feb/06 (when Bryan Colangelo was hired to run the show), have the Raptors clearly separated themselves from ‘the pack’ of middle-of-the-road teams in the Eastern Conference … as so many of their ardent supporters would have you believe, parroting the propoganda put out by the team’s ownership group … or, are they, in fact, firmly entrenched in the midst of an expanding group of (mostly) mediocre organizations … with little tangible reason for overt optimism, relative to the other members of this group?
A1. Only time will tell for sure … but it certainly appears that … there is no definitive answer yet … and, the proverbial ‘clock is ticking’ for the Raptors, as a 1st-Class ‘pro’ sports franchise with legitimate designs on capturing the NBA championship one day in the no-too-distant future.
No. 1 (Overall) Draft Picks don’t just drop in a team’s lap everyday.
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Get shellacked on the boards, 35-50, and your team doesn’t deserve to win an NBA game, against a quality opponent.
Until “Mitchellangelo” addresses this perpetual deficiency … the Raptors will forever be a ‘Fool’s Gold’ team … compared to Boston, LA Lakers, Detroit, San Antonio, etc.
khandor’s last blog post..Rosen on the Raptors’ PG situation