"It was one of those games you want to forget because the more you think about it, the more it hurts,” Bosh said yesterday.
The Nuggets hung 168 points on Seattle in their next game after the Raptors.
"Just incredible,” Bosh said.
"The key for us is we have to play defence. We can’t play into their hands. When the game gets fast, it’s real tempting to get up and down and shoot quick shots. We have to make sure we take good, quality shots and get back on defence."
Bosh’s presence in the post at least gives the Raptors a chance of slowing the game’s pace by dumping the ball into the paint.
On most nights, the Raptors like to run, but they are not equipped to run with Denver, meaning every possession must be valued.
"We have to make (Denver) play defence,” Bosh said.
In preparing for today’s game, Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell took a close look at Philly’s win over the Nuggets on Wednesday.
"Philly is athletic enough that they took away transition points,” he said. "Denver had only 15 fast-break points."
Patience, Mitchell insists, will be critical for his Raptors, who will get looks against the defensively challenged Nuggets. "We have to limit possessions,” Mitchell said of Denver’s high-octane offence. "We have to compact the game."
"We got to attack the basket a little bit more,” Jamario Moon said in a mild understatement.
"The way our offence is, we tend to get a lot of open looks," Moon said.
While it’s true the Raptors like to move the ball from side to side and make that extra pass, their inability to get to the foul line has been a season-long concern.
When asked about the state of his groin injury, Primoz Brezec had the following observation: "The groin is a gangster."
Makes you wonder how Brezec and Charles Oakley would get along had the two played together.
"They can put points up, that’s no secret," said Chris Bosh.
"We can’t play into their things, because when the game gets fast, it’s real tempting to just get up and down and shoot quick shots.
"We have to make sure we take good, quality shots and get back on defence, because we know they like to leak out and (Allen Iverson) really likes to push the ball in transition.
"We can run and if we have layups or wide-open jump shots, we can take that.
"But we have to be very conscious of taking bad shots."
"It’s hard because they’re going to give you some good looks but we have to be patient, we can’t play that kind of basketball game," said Mitchell.
"We’ve got to try to limit their possessions and compact the game and get them in the 75 to 80 shots for the game.
"We can throw the ball inside and you can slow it down a little bit, so having Chris definitely will help."
What are Bryan Colangelo and Sam Mitchell’s plans for the one-spot? Should the Raptors keep Ford and let Calderon sign elsewhere as a restricted free agent this summer? Or should they give Calderon a long-term extension and trade Ford? Below is a breakdown.
Why the Raptors should keep Ford …
- He’s lightning quick. The Texan puts pressure on opposing defenses with his blazing speed and ability to penetrate.
- Ford has potential as a second option on offense. Before getting hurt, he posted impressive scoring numbers and looked like an All-Star.
- Money matters. Ford is on the books for two more years at a very reasonable 8 million dollars per season.
Why the Raptors should keep Calderon …
- He’s a classic table-setter. The Euro gets teammates involved with his pass-first, spread-the-rock style.
- Calderon has impressed as the starter. Analysts see him as a top ten point guard and many believe he should’ve represented the Eastern Conference at the All-Star game in New Orleans.
- Calderon has a league-leading 4.88 assist-to-turnover ratio. Of course, this statistic is used to measure how point guards care for the ball.
Our call: The Raptors should keep Calderon and trade Ford for a rebounding center.
Why: Sure, the Spaniard’s footspeed needs work. And sure, he’s not flashy. But Calderon’s decision-making brings out the best in others -a rare and valuable commodity in today’s NBA.
Also, Calderon possesses an intagible quality. His international experience and modest outlook have molded him into a leader. This will help a young team come playoff time.
Today against Toronto, Karl said Najera will help out on Raptors star Chris Bosh, a top-10 player according to Karl.
"Kenyon (Martin), Marcus (Camby) and Eddie are going to figure out how to control him," Karl said.
Spotlight on T.J. Ford: In the last two games, the point guard has 11 assists and one turnover. He is efficient and electric. "He’s incredibly quick with the ball, very dangerous," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "T.J. can take the game over for a 10-minute stretch." Ford has been sharing time at the point with Jose Calderon. They have become a dangerous, versatile duo.
Bosh returned last Wednesday in a 96-54 victory over the lowly Miami Heat, and while the Heat only resemble an NBA team, Bosh was still happy to return.
"It gets kind of boring doing the same thing," said Bosh, about his rehab while sitting out. "I’m excited to be back. I’m feeling good. I’m ready to roll." Bosh, who wears a brace on his right knee, does not expect his knee to keep him off the court for any more games this season.
"I’m in it to win it," Bosh said. "I want to help this team finish out strong. I know we have a long way to go and we have some tough games before the playoffs, so we have to attack the rest of our games like it’s our last because we want to go in with a lot of momentum."
Momentum?
Most teams like to coast during the last few games of the season, to rest for the postseason. Bosh, however, said the Raptors can’t afford to rest.
"We can’t turn it on like Detroit or Boston, we have to play every game hard because Philly and Washington are right behind us and we might see [the Cavs] in the playoffs," Bosh said. "If we don’t play hard [especially against the Cavs] they won’t consider us a worthy opponent in the first round."
On the basis of this game, as well as the past several weeks, it’s clear that Toronto is much better off with Calderon getting the starter’s minutes. Even more so considering how easily Ford could re-injure his spine. Ford would, however, make an excellent backup, one whose speed and ability to stop-and-pop could provide a dramatic change of pace with the second unit.
Too bad the chances of Ford accepting this kind of diminished role are nil.
Simply put, along with their other needs — like a powerhouse big man, and a creative wing — Ford must be traded and Calderon must be resigned for the Raptors to ever challenge the Pistons, Celtics, Magic and Cavs for supremacy in the East.
With all of Ford’s physical vulnerabilities, it will undoubtedly be much easier to re-up Calderon than to find a new home for T.J. Even so, the Raps will in deep trouble if there’s a Ford in their future.
while this defensive performance was undoubtedly impressive, i would advise others to learn from Toronto’s mistake; don’t have Kris Humphries on your roster. since humphries thought that LeBron wasn’t aware of his poor performance, he felt obligated to remind him. as the two teams walked to their respective dressin rooms, LeBron was jawing at the deliriously-confident humphries, who had forgotten how awesome he was until he blocked 23’s shot on the Cavs last possession. anyways, the humph’s idiocy led to a pissed James to go off for 23 in the 2nd half. thanks kris.
Last year was Bosh’s first taste of the playoffs.
Bringing us back to this year, we have seen the value that Bosh has to Raptors. Earlier this month, Bosh returned from a ten game absence due to a sore right knee. During that time, his team went 2-8 (.200). With Bosh, the team had been playing 33-26 (.559) and were in fourth place in the weak Eastern Conference.
They now sit sixth.
In 2005 and in 2006, Steve Nash won the NBA MVP because of how his team faltered without him as much as he won it because of what he did. Nash won those MVPs because he came to a backwater NBA town (the Suns had been perennial losers for a while) and instantly changed the team. People saw this drastic change and handed Nash back-to-back MVPs.
With Bosh, he has grown with the team, so people don’t see that drastic change. However, the entire Raptors organization knows how valuable CB4 really is. It’s a shame the rest of the league will never get it.
Onions, baby, onions.
Hailing from the University of Michigan ,Maceo now plays for the Toronto Raptors – and has been in the NBA for a few years now.
Baston played in the CBA with the Quad City Thunder, then in Europe (Italy & Spain) before a short stay with the Raptors in 2003.
After a stint with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Maceo Baston signed a deal with the Indiana Pacers in 2006.
In July 2007 he moved to the Toronto Raptors, where he remains today.
Baston is a prime example of hard work, and is part of the backbone of the NBA! The unsung player.
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Hi All:
I am posting a comment to ask for all the bloggers to make their readers aware of an effort that I have started. Jack Armstrong is loved by most fans and with Sportsnet dropping Raptor Coverage he will not be on Regular T.V next season has things stand. I wanted to do what I could to give fans a chance to change that. I did a podcast in support of this and posted it on the score. com bullhorn section. the title is GET JACK ARMSTRONG ON THE SCORE. Jack has covered the Raptors for 10 years and I want that to continue he does a great job and I don’t wish to see himn go the way of Norma Wick. So if you could make your various readers aware of this I would thank you. Here is the link to the posting on the score.
http://www.thescore.com/bullhorn/ViewBullhornDetail.aspx?ID=2586
Thanks too all that choose to support this. If you want more info about this it is featured in my blog today. But this is not an attempt by me to increase traffic for me. Just to make sure Jack Armstrong remains a part of Raptor Basketball for ALL fans