Post by admin on Mar 24, 2008 14:56:01 GMT -5
TORONTO -- With 70 games in the books, the Toronto Raptors are back where they started, with as many losses as wins.
But unlike early in the season, the Raptors are no longer a team playing with the confidence that they can compete in the Eastern Conference. You only need to take the temperature of the team's superstar, Chris Bosh, to know that.
While Bosh was not calling out specific teammates after Toronto's 109-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets Sunday, he was criticizing the team's passive nature. Bosh is more than a little frustrated after watching his team lose 11 of its last 14 games, putting them in a serious flirtation with the seventh playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, and a first-round date with the Detroit Pistons.
"The thing that bothers me at the end of games is that we're just too hesitant. If I give up the ball, guys just have to go ahead and rely on their talent," Bosh said. "I think we hesitate too much and we think about it too much. We just have to play basketball down the stretch, 'cause we don't worry about it in the first three quarters, so why worry about it in the fourth?"
That passivity showed itself for the second straight game in a back-and-forth fourth quarter. Just as it was on Friday in Cleveland, the lead was up for grabs against Denver at the Air Canada Centre.
The lead changed nine times in the fourth quarter, with Anthony Parker's three-pointer giving Toronto a two-point lead with 2:36 remaining in the game.
But the Raptors could not capitalize, and Denver went on a 13-2 run in the closing minutes. Both Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony drained a pair of free throws after the Parker three-pointer, and a three-pointer from Iverson gave Denver a five-point lead.
The Raptors, meanwhile, turned the ball over twice after the Parker basket, missed a pair of shots and committed a game-clinching clear-path foul. Other than an uncontested dunk from Jamario Moon, there was nothing to like about the game's last two minutes.
His teammates' lack of success in crunch time will not make Bosh stop giving up the ball. But it might very well build up some more angst in the star forward, who finished one assist shy of his first career triple-double. He had 17 points and 12 rebounds.
"No, I have to [pass the ball]. I'm way past that. I just have to continue to be a team player no matter what the situation is in games," Bosh said. "If I have a chance to take somebody I'm going to take them, but if they [get] help, I'm going to put [the ball] in my teammates' hands. But when they get it - I believe in them to make plays. I want them to be aggressive."
The subtle message is that Bosh, who returned last week from a knee injury that sidelined him for 10 games, needs his teammates to believe they can make plays.
"Until he gets back fully, teams are sagging on him," Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said. "We got to make those shots when he swings the basketball. We got some good looks tonight. Chris did a good job of moving the basketball. We just didn't make them pay."
Iverson and Anthony did. The pair combined to shoot 25-for-44 from the field, scoring 69 points between them.
It is the kind of automatic production from swingmen that the Raptors would kill for. Instead, other than the reliable, if unspectacular, output Mitchell can count on from Parker, the Raptors have nothing but question marks at that spot.
Andrea Bargnani delivered a breath-taking 16-point first quarter Sunday, but did not get another point the rest of the way.
The story has repeated itself several times this year, leaving guard T.J. Ford at a loss for words.
"I don't know what to tell y'all."
Close
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But unlike early in the season, the Raptors are no longer a team playing with the confidence that they can compete in the Eastern Conference. You only need to take the temperature of the team's superstar, Chris Bosh, to know that.
While Bosh was not calling out specific teammates after Toronto's 109-100 loss to the Denver Nuggets Sunday, he was criticizing the team's passive nature. Bosh is more than a little frustrated after watching his team lose 11 of its last 14 games, putting them in a serious flirtation with the seventh playoff seed in the Eastern Conference, and a first-round date with the Detroit Pistons.
"The thing that bothers me at the end of games is that we're just too hesitant. If I give up the ball, guys just have to go ahead and rely on their talent," Bosh said. "I think we hesitate too much and we think about it too much. We just have to play basketball down the stretch, 'cause we don't worry about it in the first three quarters, so why worry about it in the fourth?"
That passivity showed itself for the second straight game in a back-and-forth fourth quarter. Just as it was on Friday in Cleveland, the lead was up for grabs against Denver at the Air Canada Centre.
The lead changed nine times in the fourth quarter, with Anthony Parker's three-pointer giving Toronto a two-point lead with 2:36 remaining in the game.
But the Raptors could not capitalize, and Denver went on a 13-2 run in the closing minutes. Both Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony drained a pair of free throws after the Parker three-pointer, and a three-pointer from Iverson gave Denver a five-point lead.
The Raptors, meanwhile, turned the ball over twice after the Parker basket, missed a pair of shots and committed a game-clinching clear-path foul. Other than an uncontested dunk from Jamario Moon, there was nothing to like about the game's last two minutes.
His teammates' lack of success in crunch time will not make Bosh stop giving up the ball. But it might very well build up some more angst in the star forward, who finished one assist shy of his first career triple-double. He had 17 points and 12 rebounds.
"No, I have to [pass the ball]. I'm way past that. I just have to continue to be a team player no matter what the situation is in games," Bosh said. "If I have a chance to take somebody I'm going to take them, but if they [get] help, I'm going to put [the ball] in my teammates' hands. But when they get it - I believe in them to make plays. I want them to be aggressive."
The subtle message is that Bosh, who returned last week from a knee injury that sidelined him for 10 games, needs his teammates to believe they can make plays.
"Until he gets back fully, teams are sagging on him," Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said. "We got to make those shots when he swings the basketball. We got some good looks tonight. Chris did a good job of moving the basketball. We just didn't make them pay."
Iverson and Anthony did. The pair combined to shoot 25-for-44 from the field, scoring 69 points between them.
It is the kind of automatic production from swingmen that the Raptors would kill for. Instead, other than the reliable, if unspectacular, output Mitchell can count on from Parker, the Raptors have nothing but question marks at that spot.
Andrea Bargnani delivered a breath-taking 16-point first quarter Sunday, but did not get another point the rest of the way.
The story has repeated itself several times this year, leaving guard T.J. Ford at a loss for words.
"I don't know what to tell y'all."
Close
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