Raptor Rewind- From The Real Rose Garden

Now the actual Rose Garden is in Portland of course. But United likely can't afford sponsorship for the arena in Chicago in these though times. So why not just call it the Rose Garden. Maybe because of that M.J statue outside. Rose may never be as good as that guy. But same may be said for a lot of guys not named Kobe or Lebron. The Raptors got burned badly last time they saw Derrick Rose. But this time with the exception of Kris Humphries it is all hands on deck. Jose Calderon and J.O along with Chris Bosh all good to go. Still can it make a difference? Well it should on offense. But that is not as big a problem as the lack of defense. Jose Calderon is not going to improve that at all. In fact Rose could likely beat him as easy as the back ups. But J.O will add some shot blocking to the mix. However with his bags packed waiting for word on when that call is coming from Miami how hard can we expect him to play? I am not sure to be honest with you. It seems clear the writing is on the wall that he is not here for much longer. Just being a normal human being that makes it hard to stay focused. You can make the speech about being a professional and all of that. I hear you, but when you have been reduced to a secondary role on a team that has their playoff chances hanging by a thread, how much can you really expect. Bosh got humbled by Noah in the last match up of these two teams. Knowing the type of guy Bosh is I doubt he has forgot that. However his overall frustration with this team is becoming clear. I don't blame him a bit for that. He may not like the term frustration but it fits what I am seeing. It has been an awful year after what was likely a high point in his life winning a gold medal. There has been nothing golden about this season for Chris Bosh. I even wonder if he might pay the price for the lack of his team's success by not getting named to the All Star Game. People talk about Danny Granger not getting the nod because of his team's record. Well Bosh's team's record is very similar. The next 4 games on the schedule are not hard games but after that 4 very hard games( Magic, Hornets, Cavs, Lakers ). Paul Jones and Eric Smith made that point in their Vlog today and it is a valid one. If the Raptors don't win 3 of the next 4 games any kind of a comeback trade or not will not matter. So with that sobering news let's get ready for some basketball shall we?

1st Quarter

Raptors busting out the black jerseys for this one. Bulls win the tip and away we go. Ben Gordon who is not a happy camper missed his first shot of the night. Raptors also miss on their first trip. Derrick Rose moves on the break off a turnover for a lay up. Andrea Bargnani would respond and open the scoring for the Raptors. Calderon would get the next basket and makes his first jumper in a long while. Ben Gordon was fined for showing up late for the Bulls plane and he let it be known he was not happy. He would make a 3 pointer with a little lighter wallet. But Bargnani was off to a good start and Anthony Parker would add to that effort as well. Raptors had an early 10-7 lead. Jamario Moon got a quick hook for Joey Graham. But Derrick Rose was taking it to Calderon he made a sweet move and left Jose wondering where he went. Bulls fought back to take a 13-10 lead. Calderon would at least make up for his bad defense by making a jumper. Anthony Parker who was back to his normal position after filling in for Jose seemed to be enjoying that as he made another jumper. That put the Raptors back up by a point.

J.O had checked into the game and made a jump shot. Bosh would take it to the bucket and jam it home. Raptors had an 18-13 lead. Chicago would answer with a bucket but J.O would hooked up Joey G for 2. Raptors would get another jumper from Calderon who was 3-3 to start his return and he would have a seat with Raptors up 22-17. Kapono would check in for Calderon and Parker would slide over to play the point. Graham would get another basket to give the Raptors a 7 point lead. But Deng would answer and a block on Bosh, that would lead to Tyrus Thomas dunking it in the grill of J.O. The Bulls had cut the lead down to 3 points. Thomas had the block as well that was on Bosh. A travel on Jermaine O'Neal would give Bull a chance to cut more off the lead but would not be able to score. Andrea Bargnani would drive and draw a foul and head to the line. He would make both from the line and the Raptors lead 26-21. He would get another basket next time down the floor and had an early eight points and the Raptors lead 28-21. Kirk Hinrich was in the game and makes his first attempt of the night. The Bulls would get a tap back on a Hinrich miss as they had made it closer late in the 1st. Raptors lead 28-25 after the first quarter in Chicago.

2nd Quarter

Both teams were shooting off the charts. Raptors shooting 66% and the Bulls 57% as defense was a lost art in the hometown the new President. Bulls would open the scoring and cut the lead to just 1 point out of the gate in the 2nd. J.O would make his way to the line and made both. Turnover for the Bulls would lead to a push out that would see Andrea Bargnani get to the line. Bargnani would split a pair and the Raptors lead 31-27. Raptors continue to roll as Kapono would make a 3 pointer and Raptors lead 34-27. The Bulls would storm back on a run to tie it up at 34. But Bargnani would snap that run and Derrick Rose would quickly answer.

Andres Nocinoni would make a 3 pointer to give the Bulls the lead 39-36. Chris Bosh felt he was fouled before a time out. He would plead his case to Dick Bavetta but he was not going to win that conversation. But out of time out he would just drive and score. Jamario Moon was out of the dog house and back in the game and scored to give the Raptors a 40-39 lead. Bulls would once again push back but a Derrick Rose air ball would break that run. Bulls had a 44-40 lead at that point and Jose Calderon made a jumper and he looked very good with his shot tonight. Calderon would hook up Moon and he already had 8 point and 5 dimes. But the Raptors still trailed 46-44. Derrick Rose would recover for the air ball and make his next shot. Be Gordon would follow up on that with a shot of his own. Jermaine O'Neal would get fouled by Tyrus Thomas and Thomas was talking trash and J.O was to say the least not amused. It may have distracted him as he missed his first free throw and made the second. Bulls were hanging on to the lead up 50-48. Thomas and O'Neal would get together again giving J.O a chance to tie the game and he would. All even at 50 with less then a minute to play. Teams exchanged baskets and stayed tied at 52. Jamario Moon would send Deng to the line with a chance to give the Bulls the lead from the line. Which he would do making both. Raps would call a 20 second time out looking to get a score with 10 seconds to go in the half. Bosh would drive it and get to the line. He would make both and a Rose throw up from far away would not fall. So we head to the half tied at 54.

3rd Quarter

Solid first half for Andrea Bargnani who was only player in this game in double figures with an 11 point effort in the first half shooting 50% from the field. Defense is still pretty much MIA in Chicago as Raps were shooting 54% and Bulls 52% from the field. First play of the half went to Bosh would would draw the foul and send him to the line. He would make the basket and make the and 1 at the line. Claderon would then look to get it to Bargnani would wold make his first shot of the second half. Raptors had a 60-55 lead in the early stages of the 3rd quarter. Calderon would find Bargnani on the break and he would drive and score. 8 dimes for Jose in his return and 16 points for Bargnani. More important than all of that the Raptors lead 62-55.

A correction on the as Bargnani 3 pointer was changed to a 2 pointer. So make it 15 for him. But Bosh and Calderon both would score and the Raptors had built a 65-55 lead. They had started the quarter on an 11-1 run. Calderon would score again and he had 12 points and the Raptor run had been extended to a 13-1 run. This was nothing like the Bulls team that came into the ACC just over a week ago. The Raptors had a better roster to play against them. However the Bulls were just not as good as well. That combination had the Raptors leading 67-56. Bosh would foul Nocioni hard and these to struggling teams were starting to get after each other. The one on one stuff with O'Neal and Thomas was spreading though out the rosters of both teams. Bargnani would hit a 3 pointer after Nocioni would make the foul shots. Andres would answer with a 3 pointer for the Bulls. But the Raptors would move the ball well and find Parker for a 3 pointer. Raptors lead 73-61. After a Bulls score Ben Gordon would look for another and he took a hard foul from Jamario Moon. He could only split a pair and the Raptors lead 73-64 with just about half of the third quarter to play.

Wide open look for Kirk Hinrich would quietly had scored 12 off the bench for the Bulls. Raptors were showing signs of leakage still leading 73-67 but the offense had gone cold. But Raps were hanging in for now as J.O picked up a charge. Derrick Rose with a sweet jumper and the Bulls had an 8-0 run and cut the Raptor lead down to just 4. Jay Triano had seen enough and wanted a time out. Raptors couldn't score out of the time out but Bosh created a turnover at the other end. It would lead to him getting a score on the other end with a jumper. Bosh would have a chance to build the lead more but would get called for a travel. But again on the other end created a turnover and this time it lead to a Parker basket. Raptors lead 77-69. Bulls would answer but Parker would make it back to back baskets for him. Another hard foul by the Raptors and the Bulls split a pair from the line. Parker at the point now would hook up Kapono for a 2 point jumper. Bulls would make a pair from the line and the Raptors lead was 81-74. Joey Graham would make a jumper to give the Raptors a 9 point lead to take to the fourth quarter. They lead it 83-74.

4th Quarter

It sure looked like the Raptors could hang on to this one. The question as it has been all season is would they? Raptors at shot it well all night as they were shooting 56% from the field. The 4th started with a mid range jumper from Kapono. The Bulls would answer. Nocinoni had a chance to cut the lead further but would miss the 3 pointer. Bosh would get on the glass and allow Joey Graham to get to the line and make a pair from it. After a slow start Joey was doing well. Raptors were as a team up 87-77. A steal for Joey and he set up Parker for an open 3 pointer but he would miss it. Raptors were not allowing any easy baskets as they fouled Ben Gordon hard. He would make both. But Joey Graham was heating up as he had 2 more and had 13 on the night. Raptors lead 89-80. The Raptors were showing some toughness that we had not seen at any point this season that I can recall. Ben Gordon would make a jump shot and cut the Raptor lead to 7 with the score 89-82.

Full marks to Jose Calderon as he had out played Derrick Rose to this point. Ben Gordon was the one guy keeping the Bulls in it. He made another running jumper to cut the lead to 5. A three second call on the Raptors would give Bulls a chance to cut the lead more. However Nocioni would miss a 3 pointer. Kapono would miss as well and the Bulls with another chance to score would do so. Jose Calderon would get a much needed basket to push lead to 91-86. Gordon would find his way to the line though and make a pair and the lead was back to just three. A Bosh miss and Bulls had a chance to tie or pull to down 1. Deng would make it happen for the Bulls. Calderon would look to get it to Bosh who would deliver. A Bulls turnover which was a frequent occurrence in this game would lead to Joey Graham heading to the line for two after a time out on the floor.

This was one of the better effort we had seen from the Raptors in quite some time. Graham would miss his first but make his second. Deng would score on the other end and the Raptor lead was just 94-92. Rose would foul Calderon and send him to the line where he had not missed all year and would not here. Raptors lead 96-92 as Jose was 78 for 78 from the line on the year. Andrea Bargnani would foul Noah but he would miss a pair. After that Noah would pick up his 6th foul ending his night and sending Bargnani to the line with 4:38 to go. Bargnani would split a pair and the Raptors lead 97-92. Nocioni would try a 3 pointer but would not make it and Raptors claim the board. They would miss but get on the offensive glass and that would get Parker a open look from 3 point range in the corner and he made it. Raptors lead was up to 8 with the score 100-92. Joey Graham was hot tonight making another jumper and he was 6-7 on the night. He would take that effort back with him on defense helping the Raptors get a stop. Raptors would have the ball up 10 with 2:48 to go. Jose Calderon would get a score and he had 18 on the night and the Raptors lead was a dozen. Andrea Bargnani would pretty much seal it up with a 3 pointer and Raptors lead 107-92. Adding insult to injury for the Bulls Calderon would jack up a 3 pointer and nail it. Calderon would continue to see his point total rise and his free throw record with 2 more from the line. He would get to take a seat after he had an amazing return with 23 points and 10 assists. The Raptors would have their first win since beating the Grizzlies at home on January 9th. It was a 114-94 white washing of the Bulls.

Full marks to a couple guys that I take issue with. Jose Calderon was they guy that was advertised when this season began with an outstanding night. Also Joey Graham really got after it tonight and was great. Given the way Moon has played of late I never thought I would say this but put Joey G in the starting line-up. A Boxscore worth looking at for a change.

Raps/Bulls Boxscore

This looked a lot like the team that was advertised at the start of the season. I will point out this was just one game and in and of itself does not mean a lot. However when you have lost 7 straight games...Screw that enjoy this win folks because not only did the Raptors earn it, but so have all of us for having to watch the 7 games before this one. Raptors will look to make it 2 in a row against the Kings on Sunday night. If they have half the effort and energy they showed tonight they should do that easily.

Change...When Will It Come To The Raptors?

The big news yesterday was that Pat Riley did not deny that he did in fact request health info on Jermaine O'Neal. This got a wildfire of speculation that the much talked about Shawn Marion and Jermaine O'Neal trade could go down very soon. Until it happens this can not be helping build chemistry on this team. That being said the chemistry has not been good anyway with the team on a 7-game losing streak. So it will be a wait and see approach if J.O is actually going to be in the line-up. However you can bet the next time he is a scratch the rumours will go through the roof if he is not there in the line-up. Jose Calderon is likely not going any where though. However he may be returning to the line-up tonight. He did practice with the team yesterday in Chicago. Calderon suggested it will be a mental hurdle he must get over to trust that his hamstring will not give out on him again. This is the second time this season Calderon will be returning from this injury. It is the 3rd injury total he has picked since the summer time. He was of course injured in Olympics. It makes you wonder if Calderon can in fact be durable playing starter minutes to level he forced to on this roster. One of the big reasons he was selected over T.J Ford to move forward with was his health in comparison to Ford. Both point guards have had their share of injuries this year.

A New Candidate For Raptors Coaching Job?

You may have missed this with all the all the trade rumour talk. But the Memphis Grizzlies said good bye to their head coach Mark Iavaroni yesterday.If you remember there was a lot of talk that Bryan Colangelo was very interested in bringing in Iavaroni to replace Sam Mitchell. However Mitchell would go on to win coach of the year and re-sign in Toronto. Colangelo may still consider him a candidate if he looks to hire a coach in the off-season. Given the lack of success it is hard to think he will not be. However there is a lot of candidates out there to choose from for Colangelo. But it should be noted that Iavaroni was of course an assistant with the Suns and Colangelo knows him very well. Colangelo has stated, he has no plans to address the coaching situation till the off-season. Given all the change that has gone on with this team and how they have responded to that it seems unlike a move will be made till then. But it is worth noting that another candidate could be on the list. If Iavaroni can not find a head coaching job you would think the New York Knicks would be interested in having him as an assistant under Mike D'Antoni.

All Star Starters Announced

Western Conference
Tim Duncan
Amare Stoudemire
Yao Ming
Kobe Bryant
Chris Paul

Eastern Conference
Kevin Garnett
LeBron James
Dwight Howard
Allen Iverson
Dwyane Wade

Dwight Howard was the player that got the most votes from fans. He was the only player to top 3 million in votes with a total of 3,150,181 votes. Other things of note Chris Paul was able to get in as a late push got him past Tracy McGrady to get in the starting line-up for the West. If T-Mac got in over Paul it would have been a joke. But not as big a joke as if Yi Jian Lian got in over Lebron James or Kevin Garnett. He did beat Raptors Chris Bosh by over 700,000 votes and Paul Pierce by just under 600,000 votes. It is just sad and it is a problem. I also question if Allen Iverson is an all-star as well. But it is what it is. It will be interesting to see if Chris Bosh is added to the roster when the reserves are announced. If it were up to one of the ex-coaches, that gets a lot of talk about being someone fans would like to see in Toronto, he would not be going. Jeff Van Gundy has went on the record and said that he thinks no player on a below .500 team deserves to be on the All-Star team. It may be tough to get a team for the East under that Van Gundy system.

Does it Stop At 7?

I am hopeful it will but not that optimistic. Derrick Rose going against a Jose Calderon that admits he is not fully confident in his hamstring mentally. Rose should be able to take advantage. Not to mention the mood around this team that is obviously waiting to see Jermaine O'Neal be shown the door. It just all says to me that the Raptors will not win. If they do not win the next game after that I will seriously question if I should keep writing game re-caps the rest of the year. That game is against the Sacremento Kings and they may be one of a short list of teams that are in worse shape. But as for tonight, I give the Bulls the edge in this game. I don't want to do it but it just seems very unlikely the Raptors can pull together to get a win. That being said whenever I think the Raptors will lay an egg they usually come out and surprise me over the years. Let's hope that is the case with this one. Why? BECAUSE LOSING SUCKS!!!

Court Surfing In Dino Nation Blog With Randy Urban

Last week we had D.J Bennett stop by to talk about the Raptors. His partner on The Score on the website and holding things down on the Court Surfing live blog is Randy Urban. Randy is also involved behind the scenes with the funny stuff you see from Gerry Dee sports reporter. We have a interesting chat about the Raptors talking about the things that have not gone so well for the Raptors. We talk about the Bosh and O'Neal relationship, Jamario Moon and his struggles, The lack of a true back up point guard and what can the Raptors do to find the answer at the wing spot. That and a lot more in this conversation

Powered by Podbean.com

I talked some NBA ball with both Randy and D.J and I will be putting that together on the weekend in written form. look for that over the weekend. Thanks to Randy for stopping by. He is also helping me get in touch with some other folks from the Score to come by and visit us here. It should be fun. The more folks we talk to the better. The Dino Nation Blog is proud of the long growing list of guests we have and it is great to make them all part of our family here. Thanks to Randy for his time and I look forward to talking with him in the future as well as D.J.

Here is the latest work of both Randy and D.J talking trade rumours:

Jack Armstrong Mid-Season Chat With Dino Nation Blog

Jack Armstrong is one of my favourite guests to have in the Dino Nation Blog. Since we have started our chats he has starting doing his own blog. It is part of the list of sites we have over on the right side of your screen. He also hosts his radio show and is on Hoops when he is in town. In short he is a very busy guy. I am always happy to talk with him for the Dino Nation Blog. Today's interview takes a look back and look forward at this Raptor season. It is an interesting 15 minute chat we have that talks about a number of issues. Jamario Moon and the Raptor wing spots. Bryan Colangelo and the overall outlook for this team. As well as a look at what has gone wrong and why. It starts off with a little fun as well. Given the Raptors recent struggles we can use that. So with that all said here is my interview with Jack Armstrong from earlier today in Chicago.

Powered by Podbean.com

We talked before we got started and he has yet to hear anything in terms of movement as relates to Jermaine O'Neal. Reports were out this morning that Raptors and Heat had been exchanging medical records. But as of 10am Chicago time there was no news to report.

I thank Jack as always for making time for the Dino Nation Blog. He is one of the most straight forward guys you will find in the Raptors media and I have always respected in honesty in talking about this team be it here in the Dino Nation Blog or any of the other many places you can hear Jack talking about the team.

Raptors Rewind- No We Can't Game Notes

So I was doing my live blog thing for the score so I was not able to catch this game and in fact I missed the first quarter even on Raptors game in an hour. But I did hear how this movie ends so I will just take some game notes on what I am able to watch. J.O was out there which means the trade is not going down tonight. Nathan Jawai would actually get to debut too. To be honest that is likely on reason I am watching. I was surprised to see the Raptors lead after 1 quarter though. But in the first 5 minutes I have seen so far the Raptors have blown their lead. No shock in that. The rest will be just point form notes.

• So Raps are up 32-31 as I check in late
• Jamario Moon takes a 3 and makes it and I wish he had not
• Bargnani travels for all his improvements drives still look strange and out of control
• The big 3 line up YIPPIE
• Bosh win lose draw he gives all he has
• Pistons have take control and lead by 3 at the half ( I know where this goes which makes that all the more depressing)
• I dread watching this 3rd quarter
• Nice jumper for CB4 only down 3
• A fading lane duck jumper for AP does not fall
• AI as Piston looks odd but him scoring on Raptors not so much
• Sheed misses an open 3 pointer something tells me those will fall later
• Bargnani is 3 of 12? That can't be good
• Rodney Stucky I love why can't we draft someone like that?
• AP good job on defense but then misses on other end
• Joey G gets his lick in on Wallace. That would be a good fight
• Moon another jumper does he ever drive anymore?
• So far so good Raps still down just 4....Maybe it will change in rewind?
• Maybe not AI for 3
• Ok here we go the Pistons are on 7-0 run
• I feel for Bosh he is doing his job
• Andrea with a basic post move but effective
• Kapono a rare 3 ball from him but Raps still down 10
• Bosh lots of jumpers not to many drives
• Raps just can't play D flat out
• Did I just here Matt Devlin say Pistons shot 70% in that quarter? Wow
• Ok I am officially sick of Jose Calderon kid ad, It was funny first 100 times though
• J.O is back in and seems to be lumbering up and down the floor
• J.O has 11 but maybe he was better earlier cause I'm not seeing it
• Raps playing zone and they still can't get a board come on
• Nice Block by J.O, Andrea converts a shot the other way from 3 point range
• A bad miss on a hook for Bosh, Kapono an even worse miss
• It's tough to watch Jay Triano, I wanted him to do well but I just can't find evidence to make the case
• Transition defense for Raptors is a problem I'll make a note of that
• This just in Joey G fans, The bad Joey is back in a big way
• Moon is making shots but I don't care DRIVE THE BALL
• Big Nate can set on heck of a pick brighter days are ahead
• Well I saw it, didn't really need to because I have seen the movie and can tell you all the lines.

So that is 7 straight loses and this team is just finding new ways to lose. Well actually they are not they are losing in much the same way. It is one of two ways. They play against a good team and get beat down. They play a lesser team and lose late after having a bog lead. On a rare night they will do that with a good team. But this was not one of those nights. If what Colangelo says is true about a deal is not likely till the deadline this is going to get worse before it gets better. Calderon returning will help the offense but he is not going to help the defense. In fact that could get worse if that is possible. If you don't have TSN 2 it is rapidly becoming a blessing despite that fact it sucks. I am talking to a number of folks over next couple days maybe they have better answers. Randy Urban for The Score, Jack Armstrong and hopefully Paul Jones will all be popping in to visit and add if nothing else a different prospectives to what is becoming a horrible season.

State of The Raptors Address

Maybe this is inspired by watching all of the events of yesterday with Barack Obama. I could not help but think of the contrast to what I was watching, in comparison to the Raptors situation. I have always tried to keep a somewhat positive approach to what the Dino Nation Blog is all about. That goes in contrast to all that is going on at this moment and time in the Raptor world. In watching Barack Obama take office you could not hide from the true hope that he has created, not just in America but around the globe. Hope is a rapidly fading word in the Raptor fan vocabulary. I find it sad that people be little those who are hopeful. If you have faith, that this team can turn around and make some form of a sporting miracle happen. Do not let anyone break that spirit of hope. I may not share that hope and may tell you why that is. I just remember back, to being a child and always having true blind faith that the team I loved would win. I truly believe that we all have that experience in us. Just like with all things as we grow older things change. How you view something like Christmas as kid is vastly different, from the one you have as an adult.

There is a lot of anger in Raptor fans and that is a justified anger in many ways. You were promised a better team that would compete and be better. You have not been given that. You expect at least to be able to watch this team win or lose. That has not happened with the whole TSN 2 mess, you have not even been given that right. Chris Bosh has been angry as well. He has not been thrilled with a lot of things. The latest of which would be the choices made by Jamario Moon down the stretch. He has also not been thrilled to have people booing him. I agree with him on that one. Bosh has made his share of mistakes he is not perfect. That being said he has grown into a star and a leader in front of all the people that follow this team. To often in this world it is all about what have you done for us lately. The history of what you have accomplished gets swept under the rug. But the true answer to all of this tension that exists has very little to do with the play of Bosh. It is based out of fear of the unknown. Chris Bosh and his future, in these times of trouble have become the focus. People just assume that he will leave like all the others before him. We have all hard what happens to those who assume right? You do not know what Chris Bosh will do. I am not even sure if Bosh knows the answer himself to be honest. He strikes me as a guy that lives in the moment.

This may be why Bryan Colangelo may just be making a major shift in the Raptors overall gameplan for the long term. The original plan was to ride Jermaine O'Neal for a couple years and cash in his contract to build around Chris Bosh. It was the thought that hopefully the Raptors could at worst be in a similar spot to where they had been a playoff team. But the best case was they would take steps to improve and advance in the playoffs. But things don't go as planned in life. If they did we may have been saying Madam President today. Hillary Clinton was expected to win, the Democratic nomination was going to be Clinton's to lose and on to the presidency. However no one counted on a man of colour named Barack Obama coming along and inspiring the youth of America and beyond. We all know what happened from there. The point is that life can always offer surprises both good and bad.The Raptors have gone off course and it will not be fixed over night. I have written before in this blog that it is easy to say you want change. It is a much different task to accomplish change. But with ever loss it is clear this team needs change.

Colangelo is in a very hard spot that he has placed himself in. He now faces the task of admitting his own failure and coming up with a new plan and implementing that plan. What the plan seems to be is a shift from looking to 2010 and change the focus to 2009. He does not want to see his star player endure another losing season and have to try to pitch to him to return after that. The new call or new hope is to become a player in the 2009 free agent market and build a team around Bosh that he can believe in. It will be much easier to compete in that free agent market as everyone still has dreams of landing the many big prizes. It also will give Colangelo control to not over pay as he could still wait till 2010 if need be. That is why a player like Shawn Marion was such an attractive option. The goal is turn the Jermaine O'Neal contract into cap space in 2009 and start to rebuild this Raptor team. Least that is the signals we are being given.

It is clear that Bosh is looking for help and has seen little beyond the recent surge of Andrea Bargnani. He has shown his frustration both in his facial expression and his words after the last loss. What happen in this next month leading up to the NBA trade deadline will tell us a lot about where this team is heading. It will speak to the direction this franchise is going in how it plans to keep it franchise player. Nothing is ever for certain but Colangelo has consistently stated that he is looking to build around Chris Bosh.

It has been a season of falling idols in Toronto. Bryan Colangelo is no longer thought to be the man who has all the answers. He is now questioned loudly and with good reason based on a track record that has had more misses then hits. After his first year in which the team would have a great deal of success and win a division title it has been a rather quick slide down. Jamario Moon was a fairly tale find that stormed on to the scene but now looks like someone that was only meant to have 15 minutes of fame. Jose Calderon emerged from the Raptor point guard civil war as the winner. He was suppose to ride that victory and new contract to the All Star Game. Instead he has spent time on the IR and when he has been in the line up looked far from the top point guard in the east some folks billed him to be. Jermaine O'Neal was brought in as the hope to lead the Raptors to the next level. But a change of jersey has not changed the fact O'Neal and his body have been through quite a lot in his long NBA career. Just like a Tracy Mcgrady that came straight out of high school and faced many injuries in his career. You wonder if J.O's career has seen it's best days and this is the beginning of the end. Bosh himself was on an extreme high coming off an Olympic Gold. He was considered one of the big reasons for the U.S being able to rise to the top of International basketball again. He returned to the Raptors and started the season where is Olympic experience ended. However more recently he has struggled like the rest of his team. He has had several mistakes late in games that have cost the Raptors. The guy that heard chants of M.V.P now reads some questioning if the Raptors should trade him before he decides to leave.

It all makes you wonder just who can we believe in? It is hard to have faith in people that have disappointed you. It is clear for any Raptor fan that this season has been a disappointment and a painful one indeed. This tells you a lot about people and the character that they have. That is true of all, not just the people that make up this organization but of us as fans of it. Is it really productive to tear people down and kick them as they are down? You see a lot of that these days. I am even guilty of it from time to time. I was live-blogging for The Score and it was the game between the Celtics and Suns. I mentioned my frustration of the Raptors recent struggles earlier in the day. A Boston fan responded and said that he understood. After all his team was struggling with about 20 wins in the season the Raptors were champs of the Atlantic Division.

The Celtics were able to make major changes and do it very quickly. The Raptors road to change may not be so fast. The Celtics do have an advantage of being a franchise with a history that is one of the greatest in all of pro sports. People still question if the Raptors can bring American stars to Canada. It is an old problem that people still wonder if it will ever go away. However as the world we live in gets smaller and access to things becomes easier no matter where you live. It makes it more possible to have a lot of the comforts of home with you where ever you go. The time has come to flip the script on the issue. Canada is an opportunity for NBA players to not just have fans in one city but in a whole nation. We need to be proud of what Toronto offers and confident that people will see that. Vince Carter became a star here and so has Chris Bosh. The old arguments that you can not be successful in Toronto are not true. It takes finding the guys that can believe in that and see the true opportunity Canada offers.

In the end things may get worse before they get better. However being a sports fan is all about faith and hope. Barack Obama has created a message of hope and faith that the world has embraced. It is time for someone in this Raptor Organization to step up and provide that faith and hope. The difference is that before someone can do that for the Raptors they must restore faith and hope about them. This has been a sad season to watch in many ways. Despite myself having some success. Not just me but other bloggers as well like the guys at Raptors Republic. They have joined a network like the Dino Nation Blog has done. I congratulate them on that and know it is pretty exciting from my own experience. We are all tied into this Raptor experience. The challenges that this team has faced will bring out a lot of the worst in all of us. But it also says a lot about the character of all of us. That goes from you all the way to Bryan Colangelo. May we all at the other side of all of this be able to look back on these times as part of the struggle. After all the goal for everyone is for the Raptors and Obama to come together in more then just a blog. They will be building a basketball court at the White House we are told. The Raptors hope one day to get a tour of that court as part of a visit as NBA Champions. That idea seems so far away at this moment in time. However that is what you have to do is hang on to visions like that. Does it seem realistic? Not at all. Do I know how we reach that point? Don't know that answer as well. But what I do know is that if you loose faith and hope in everything you can never find an answer. If this blog took that attitude it never would have got to where it is at. Each day it takes giving the best you have each day. This Raptor team needs to start doing that and if that best is not good enough. Then change must come to the Raptors and it will. It is not a pretty picture but we can all still hold out hope for a better tomorrow. To often of late it is all about what this team can not do. The task ahead of the Raptors may seem hard and impossible. But the one that faces Barack Obama is far greater and far more important. But his supporters say YES WE CAN. Well there needs to be a lot more of that attitude here with Raptors. As the Raptors head into a game with the Pistons tonight losers of 6 straight it may be as simple as that for this team to truly find a way to say YES WE CAN and believe it.

Bad Moon Rising In Raptorland As Good One Rises For America

Before we start talking basketball today. It is a truly exciting on this historic day. I set my alarm clock to wake up early. I wanted to get this blog written to watch the history of Barack Obama being sworn in to be the 44th President of the United States of America. It is well known the connection he has to basketball. However this is bigger then sports and perhaps bigger then anything I have seen in my lifetime on this earth. If you can watch this event you really should. This is something, that will become part of the shared culture that we all share as people. I wish nothing but the best for Mr. Obama he has a much harder job then any g.m or athlete faces. The hope we all have is that he can bring the change he promised not just to America but to the world.

CB4 Directs Frustration At Moon

I made note of Chris Bosh and his displeasure with Jamario Moon at the end of yesterday's game. In fact that displeasure would not be restricted to the floor. Here is what Bosh is quoted saying in the Toronto Star:

Chris Bosh-"Watch the film. He gives him a straight line to the basket," said Bosh. "Joe Johnson. All-star. Whatever you want to call him, one of the best players or two-guards in the league and you give him a straight line? You can't. That's the mental thing we are talking about. We're up by two. If he hits the jump shot and you contest it as good as you can what are we going to say? But don't give him a straight line drive. He's too talented for that. He's too good for that and that's what made me upset."

That speaks to what I saw with I my eyes watching. Moon would get tagged for back to back fouls. On both times, Moon would get blown by and forced to foul. Moon on the second foul was laughing a bit and had a smile on his face. That is the happy go lucky nature of Moon. I can not recall a time I have seen him with an angry look on his face. However the camera would cut to Bosh who had an angry stare locked in on Moon. This was before Jamario decided to jack up a very ill advised 3 pointer and everyone collectively was he was wrong. Now Bosh was not blameless as he to would make a turnover that was costly.

I think Bosh is right though to call out Moon as some are saying he did. Moon has made silly mistakes and not been the player he was last season. Bosh is growing more and more frustrated in general with a season gone wrong. Who can blame him to be honest with you. He will not be all that happy with what his G.M was quoted as saying as well. Colangelo was suggesting that he was active but it could take until the actual deadline for something to happen. That could be just talk to quiet the trade rumours about Jermaine O'Neal and Shawn Marion.

Still when all is said and done I think we can all understand the frustration of Chris. Things may not get any easier as well because I think for the first time in a while you may have to be concerned about him being an all star. That may be the ultimate slap to his face of how bad this season has gone. It will be extremely interesting to see what is to come over next month. I will be here. But a much different thing happens today. So if you are Chris Bosh or just a fan of his, even if your not. Like it said off the top, watch Obama become President. It is history that extends far beyond sports.


This is what today was all about: