An Ominous Cloud Hangs Over Bosh’s Season
Published by Ryan McNeill on November 23, 2008
Heading into the game against Boston this afternoon, Chris Bosh was posting monster numbers and was third in the league in scoring (26.9) and sixth in rebounding (10.8). Looking at his gaudy stats you would think it would be reason for celebration, however this couldn’t be further from the case as the only stat Bosh is worried about is Toronto’s shrinking winning percentage.
With the team struggling out of the gate to a sub-.500 record there hasn’t been too much joy surrounding Bosh in recent weeks. Things came to a head Sunday afternoon during the game against Boston when his emotions got the best of him and spilled out onto the court.
When asked after the game about being visibly frustrated on the court, a composed Bosh shrugged off the emotional outburst.
“It don’t matter, it’s over,” a calm and collected Bosh told the media huddled around his locker. “We just put it behind us and keep moving. It doesn’t matter what happened on the court. We tried, they kicked our butts and I look forward to Wednesday.”
With the team only being 13 games into the season head coach Sam Mitchell isn’t worried about a tough start to the season. And why should he? The team started an abysmal 2-8 three season ago and still managed to win nearly 50 games while winning the Atlantic Division. Things looked so bleak that season some fans and members were calling for Sam Mitchell to be fired - despite the fact he would go on to be named Coach of the Year that season.
“Chris (Bosh) and I have been here together for a while and we have been through tough times,” Mitchell tried to explain to the media following the tough loss to Boston. “You still have to remember we are 6-and-7 and there is a lot of basketball to play. It’s not like 35 games into the season. It’s 13 games into the season and everyone is frustrated, especially coming off a tough loss to (New) Jersey and having a bad performance the way we did today. Chris and I have talked about it and he is frustrated, but we have been through tougher times than this.”
When the media poured into the Celtics dressing room after the game Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were asked for their thoughts on what Bosh is going through. At first glance both players appear ideal to ask because they were on teams that failed to have success in the playoffs before being united in Boston where they won an NBA Championship last season.
What some members of the media seemed to have forgot is those players were on teams who didn’t have a chance at making the playoffs, while the Raptors have been pegged as a team that can make some noise in the playoffs.
Regardless, Allen was able to offer up some great advice to Bosh.
“I think everything you’re doing you just have to do harder,” Allen suggested when asked about what Bosh can do to lift up his team. “When you work harder you have to put the onus on your teammates to work just as hard or harder. Initially you start thinking trade or possible other scenarios, but if none of that is even in the question then you have to build upon what you have. That’s the team or 12 guys that you have. On practice days you need to start putting the pressure on them to get better.”
Kevin Garnett was then asked the same question and he provided a different answer. Instead of offering some advice to help Bosh on how to turn around the season, he leaned towards the idea of starting over with a new team.
“Chris Bosh’s situation is very similar to my own in Minnesota. At least from where I’m looking at it, and I’m only getting the face value. I think he has to assess his own situation and figure out what he wants and is best for himself. I tried to stay in a situation I thought was best for me and in the end I think management had a different outlook on what they wanted. I don’t know the situation here, but tonight he looked pretty frustrated.”
If that’s not enough to send chills through the spines of Raptors fans, Garnett also brought up fans worse fears: the idea Bosh could bolt in 2010 via free agency.
“If I’m not mistaken he has some options coming up and he has to make those decisions for himself if management is not going to put forth the effort to put around a better team around him. It’s heartfelt, it’s rough, it’s probably one of the hardest things business wise and basketball wise I’ve had to make but as you can see it’s worked out pretty well. I wish I had done it sooner, but it is what it is and you learn from everything. I just wish him the best and I hate that he’s going through it.”
Relax, Raptors fans.
Take a deep breath.
Breathe.
While it’s easy to get swept away with what Garnett suggested, Toronto general manager Bryan Colangelo has put the pieces in place to field a competitive team and he’s wiling to continue to do so.
Toronto hasn’t struggled because of a front office trying to cut costs, they’ve struggled because the team has been rocked by injuries. It would be hard for any team to gain momentum when their starting point guard is hobbled with a sore hamstring and a new focal part of the offense has seen limited minutes.
Fans knew the team would be in trouble if any of the big three - Bosh, Calderon and O’Neal - were to miss games this season. When you factor in that two of those players have missed time it’s easy to see why the team has struggled out of the gate.
Not only that, but most of the teams struggles come on the defensive end. They are near the top of the league in points scored, the problem is they haven’t been getting key defensive stops when they need them.
With shot blockers like Bosh and O’Neal in the paint it’s meant some players have let up mentally assuming those two players can erase their mistakes.
“It’s just effort,” Bosh vented to the media “Most of the time guys are breaking us down one-on-one and you can only motivate a guy. There is no x’s and o’s to one-on-one defense, you just have to square your guy up and make an effort. Tell him you’re not going to score and that’s what it is all about.”
With players slowly getting healthy combined with some tweaks to how players are approaching defense that may be all that’s needed to turn things around. With the team only 13 games into the season there’s still plenty of time to fix things so there’s no reason to panic.
There’s a saying that money can’t buy happiness and Bosh is a living example of that. Despite having a huge contract and personal success, until his team starts winning some games it doesn’t appear the face of the franchise will be sporting a smile.
Hopefully his teammates can get healthy and start playing some defense so Bosh can return to his normal jovial self.
Photo Credit: ICON Sports Media
This article was written by:
Ryan McNeill - who has written 237 posts on Hoops Addict.
Ryan McNeill is the editor for Hoops Addict and has appeared on NBA XL and WSRQ 1220. Ryan has covered the NBA with media credentials since the 2007 season.
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Rashad Mobley
on Sun, 23rd Nov 2008 9:05 pm
If Bosh wants some perspective, he should come down to Washington and see what real frustration looks like.
Ryan McNeill
on Sun, 23rd Nov 2008 9:11 pm
Ouch, fair enough.
However, just for discussion sake, I think his frustration is over the guards and wings making mental mistakes on defense. All those players need to do is front their men and the teams defense would improve drastically. To see his teammates make the same mental mistakes a month into the season has become draining and increasingly frustrating.
Bosh said it best when he told us tonight, “You just have to square your guy up and make an effort. Tell him you’re not going to score and that’s what it is all about.”
khandor
on Sun, 23rd Nov 2008 10:04 pm
Ryan … there’s another old saying, too, which goes like this:
“You cannot draw blood from a stone.” - Anonymous
Simply playing ‘better’ defense, individually, will not cure what ails this Raptors’ team, at the moment.
The team’s GM flat-out said, during the pre-season, that he considers this year’s team to be the most talented group of players yet assembled during his tenure with the Raptors, on paper.
Well … you know what?
Anyone who believes that assessment is accurate … whether it’s the GM, himself, the Raptors’ ownership, any of the team’s coaches or players, or their loyal fans … simply doesn’t have as much basketball acumen as they [or others] think they do.
Q. Is there NBA talent on this team? A. Yes there is.
Q. Is the NBA talent-level on this team below what was here during the 2006-2007 season? A. Yes it is.
Q. Who is responsible for this? A. You already know the answer to that question.
IMO, Chris Bosh is committed to the Toronto Raptors.
IMO, Chris Bosh is committed to the Raptors’ head coach, Sam Mitchell.
If there’s a person who Chris Bosh may not be committed to, however, it’s the person whose responsibility it is to build a championship calibre team around him, as the Raptors’ franchise player.
That’s the person who has step-up, in this situation, and be counted … for assembling the team which you’ve seen to this point in the season, sitting now with a 6-7 W-L record, a PG with a tender hamstring, and a former 6-time All-Star with a wonky left knee.
Coaches coach, players play, and GM’s are responsible for constructing the type of roster that can go deep into the NBA Playoffs, or not.
Reading is Great! Monday Morning’s NBA News, Rumors, and Weekend Updates - EmptyTheBench.com on Mon, 24th Nov 2008 4:16 am
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