Chris Bosh has a sprained left ankle and is listed as day-to-day, he will miss Friday’s game for sure and possibly Saturdays as well. This is, obviously not good news, if you’re a Raptor fan. It may however shed some light on what exactly this team is made of.
Bosh sitting on the bench may be a common occurance over the next few games.
The Raptors have been challanged this season with Jose Calderon injured for a while and Reggie Evans missing the majority of the season. Those losses were difficult to absorb, but do not come close to comparing to a Bosh injury.
The Raptors offense is centred around Bosh. The team is centred around Bosh and without him it will be interesting to see what the players and coaching staff decide to do.
A team that has used its bench and depth to its advantage all year long will surely depend on it for the next two games. Amir Johnson will play big minutes and Marco Belinelli will have to find his shooting touch if the Raptors are going to be successful without their leading scorer and team leader. Andrea Bargnani will have more touches than he has before and Reggie Evans will have to play important minutes for the first time this season.
One player that will be under the microscope the next few Bosh-less games will be Hedo Turkoglu. Hedo was open with the fact that his “head wasn’t in the game” against the Grizzlies. Without Bosh, he will have to play the role of team leader. He will be asked to control the tempo, take more shots and drive the net. He will need to be the Hedo Raptor fans have yet to see. The Hedo from last years playoffs. The one making $53 million.
This may also be a time for Raptor fans to think about the future. Bosh is an unrestricted free agent this summer. Teams all over the NBA cleared out capspace this afternoon in an effort to lure Bosh, Lebron, Wade or Amare to their respective team. These next two games without Bosh may be what 2010/2011 looks like in Toronto. As scary as that may sound for Raptor fans. These next two games may be a sign of things to come.
The Raptors will have to play well these next two games, without their star, in order to convince Bosh that this team is for real. They will have to convice themselves as well.
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Kristoffer Pedlar The Zan Tabak Herald
The Zan Tabak Herald 