Toronto Raptors News

Injuries plague struggling Raptors this season
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March 13
Toronto Star
 
"They mess with minds as much as muscles; bother both ligaments and lineups; and are an unfortunate by-product of a long and arduous NBA season. They are a pain, quite literally and figuratively. As the Raptors lurch and stumble along these days, losers of seven of eight heading into their Saturday night game against the Golden State Warriors in Oakland, one of the primary reasons for their struggle has been because they have had a hard time dealing with the most unavoidable aspect of professional sports: injuries. "It's a pain in the (butt)," Raptors coach Jay Triano says. And a pain in the knee. And the ankle. And the hip. And the psyche. Everyone's psyche. "It's boring," says Chris Bosh, ..."
Speak up, Raptors
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March 12
Toronto Sun
 
"The alarm bells were sounded in Charlotte by Bobcats captain Gerald Wallace, who vented following a recent blowout loss to Boston. Wallace had seen his team play inspired basketball earlier in the season, performing at a high level that had many believing of a promising spring run. They were sharing the basketball, shouldering the burden and being accountable on defence. Then came an unexpected slip, when details began to be overlooked, when team play was being replaced by too much individualism. Their season in jeopardy of going completely down the toilet, Wallace felt compelled to call out his teammates. "That was a team," Wallace began, recalling how Charlotte used to play in unison. ..."
Selfish streak sinks Raps
Comment
March 11
Toronto Sun
 
"Raptors head coach Jay Triano had two words for the entire evening. Selfish and confident. The Raps were the former, the Kings were the latter and, all of a sudden, following a 113-90 loss here to the Kings, the Raps' hold on a playoff spot has become precarious.?Yes, they are still sixth in the conference but have now been joined by the two teams who were occupying the seventh and eight spots - the Charlotte Bobcats and the Miami Heat. A game further back of that trio in that ninth spot sit the Chicago Bulls. A team three weeks ago that was having realistic thoughts of making a run at fourth in the East is now seriously having to contemplate another year of watching the playoffs from ..."
Kings crown Raptors
Comment
March 11
Toronto Sun
 
"From going toe-to-toe with the Los Angeles Lakers one night to laying the biggest egg since that season-changing 31-point loss in Atlanta in early December. The Raptors managed to show both some of their best and worst work within 24 hours of each other. Only once this season has a Raptors opponent scored more in a quarter than the Sacramento Kings did Wednesday night. A 43-point third quarter had the Raptors not just back to the porous defence of late February and early March, but all the way back to November and early December when teams such as Atlanta regularly were running up big scores on the Dinos. Combined with the 23 points the Raptors managed at the other end in that third ..."
Kings embarrass slumping Raptors 113-90
Comment
March 11
Toronto Star
 
"A loud fan sitting courtside threw a question at a Raptor on Wednesday night. "Hey, Chris Bosh!" came the query, "will you come to Sacramento next year?" Bosh, returning to the Toronto bench for a first-quarter timeout, heard the query loud and clear. And judging by the look of disgust on his face, you'd have thought he'd been asked if he was up for, say, a one-way ticket to eternal damnation. "Hell, no!" Bosh said to the fan."
Lakers' Lamar Odom has had enough of opponents' trash talking
Comment
March 10
Los Angeles Times
 
"The Toronto Raptors challenged the Lakers, doing a lot of talking in the process. The Raptors dared the Lakers, strutting around Staples Center on Tuesday night as if they owned the arena, as if they owned the Lakers. The Raptors mouthed-off to the Lakers, clearly not intimidated by the defending NBA champions. All of that bothered Lakers forward Lamar Odom to no end, even though the Lakers defeated Toronto, 109-107, on a 17-foot jump shot by Kobe Bryant with 1.9 seconds left. "Got dudes on the Raptors talking …," Odom said. "They ain't done …. You know what I mean? As a team, as individuals." The Raptors have never won an NBA championship. The Lakers won the franchise's 15th last June. ..."
Ain't gonna cut it
Comment
March 10
Toronto Sun
 columnist Mike Ganter
"Hedo Turkoglu has never had a stretch like this. And he never wants another like it. His run of bad luck began on the final day of January. A broken orbital bone below his right eye courtesy of an errant elbow by Indianapolis forward Mike Dunleavy was the first setback. He missed the next two games. When he returned he did so with a mask that, while protecting him from possible further serious injury, hampered his play. He eventually ditched it despite concerns from both team management and doctors. The return to the court though was short-lived as he wound up missing the final game before the all-star break to rush back to Turkey where his mother was undergoing open heart surgery. Upon ..."
Vintage Kobe
Comment
March 10
Toronto Sun
 
"Right with them, step for step, for the bulk of the evening, the Raptors had no answer when Kobe Bryant stepped on the gas. With the Raptors' lead at five and about seven minutes remaining, Bryant took the game over. He scored 14 of the final 20 Lakers points, going through first Antoine Wright, then Sonny Weems and finally Jarrett Jack to do so as the Lakers beat the Raptors 109-107. Bryant wound up with 32 points on the night on 11-of-20 shooting and if any of his teammates were complaining about him being a volume shooter after this one, they were doing it awfully quietly. Bryant had been hearing it from a few teammates - Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom specifically - about being a little ..."
Turkoglu has time to deliver goods
Comment
March 10
Toronto Star
 
"Two Euro-shooting Raptors big men walked out of a gym into the California sunshine the other day. Andrea Bargnani and Hedo Turkoglu, en route to an idling bus, walked past a fan who politely asked them both for an autograph. Bargnani, the first out the door, barely acknowledged the fan's presence, even though the college-aged devotee was holding in plain sight a jersey bearing Bargnani's name and number. The Italian just kept walking; and in his defence, only God knows how long it would have taken to sign for the throng of, uh, one. Turkoglu, a few seconds behind Bargnani en route to the bus, stopped and chatted with the fan, signed an autograph. And when a request came for a quick ..."
Another great episode of '24', Kobe Bryant to the rescue again
Comment
March 10
Los Angeles Times
 
"Strange guys, these Lakers. It looked like they were still on the road, maybe trapped in Charlotte, their Eastern Conference house of horrors, but a quick check of the schedule and a quiet crowd verified they were indeed back at Staples Center. Tuesday should have been a day for an easy victory, a chance to end a three-game skid against the barely .500 Toronto Raptors, but it turned into yet another struggle for the defending NBA champions. The Lakers prevailed, 109-107, giving their fans something to cheer about, but it wasn't an impressive night for a team that looked tired and acted aloof ... yet again. It was getting close enough to a loss that reporters scrambled to look up the last ..."
Bosh and Turkoglu expected to play tonight against Lakers
Comment
March 9
Toronto Sun
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"Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu were both full participants in Monday's practice at UCLA and are expected back in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game with the Lakers. "Normally we wouldn't scrimmage after a game with a back-to-back coming up but we had to," head coach Jay Triano said."
DeRozan's homecoming
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March 9
Toronto Sun
 
"DeMar DeRozan is home again and he's not exactly shy about letting everyone know how happy this has made him. With practice winding down and the media just getting into the daily discussion with head coach Jay Triano, the gym erupted as DeMar DeRozan came in from behind an unsuspecting Patrick O'Bryant and dunked over the 7-footer. "That's a statement," DeRozan said. "I'm taking all big men out. That's my new statement. I'm going to get CB next." That little bit of foolishness is a perfect example of how much more comfortable DeRozan is, even on his own team, than he was the last time he came home with the Raptors. "I think the first time I think I was just a month into my NBA career," ..."
Kobe under a microscope
Comment
March 9
Toronto Sun
 
"The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in an unfamiliar position at a moment in time that is as unique as Ron Artest's choice in hair style. Veiled references about Kobe Bryant's trigger-happy habits have surfaced, a three-game losing streak and an onslaught known as the juggernaut Dallas Mavericks have turned the reigning champions into a mess, at least by L.A. standards. Most teams would welcome the added attention, distractions and saga, which go with the territory of being the NBA's marquee franchise. The team that takes to the court Tuesday night against the visiting Raptors is one that has been scrutinized more times than Bryant heaved shots during the Lakers' three-game losing ..."
While Raptors hit road, DeRozan feeling at home
Comment
March 9
Toronto Star
 columnist Dave Feschuk
"Banged-up veterans reached for ice packs. On-court stragglers hoisted a few final jump shots. Raptors practice was winding down on Monday afternoon, until DeMar DeRozan wound it back up. In a rare moment of post-workout explosiveness, DeRozan, the rookie swingman, threw down a towering baseline dunk atop Patrick O'Bryant, his 7-foot teammate. The jam stirred no end of trash talk among the travelling hoopsters. And it put a smile on the face of Jay Triano, the Raptors coach. "DeMar," said Triano, "is happy to be home.""
Timing off for Bosh
Comment
March 8
Toronto Sun
 
"At least Chris Bosh has something to build on as he returns to imposing his will on games. It certainly will take time for Bosh to get his wind back and to get his legs underneath him. It certainly will help the Raptors' cause if he reverts to his all-star form in a hurry, but all things considered, Bosh said he felt okay in his return Sunday from a seven-game layoff. An ankle sprain sidelined Bosh for six games, while a stomach virus kept him out of the lineup on Friday when he had been set to make his comeback. In his absence, the Raptors were 3-4. "I felt all right," Bosh said after the Raptors were downed by the Philadelphia 76ers 114-101. "It's just like any other game coming back ..."
Raps foiled by Philly
Comment
March 8
Toronto Sun
 
"A sense of uneasiness has crept inside the Raptors, a feeling of impending doom if the team's attention to detail continues to be ignored. For now, there's no danger of missing the playoffs, but the danger lies in the Raptors' inability to seize the moment. Staring at a four-game Western swing that tips off Tuesday in Los Angeles against the reigning champion Lakers, the last thing the Raptors needed was to get wiped out on their home floor. The Raptors weren't just beaten, they were exposed. It wasn't so much their deficiencies on defence, their refusal to attack the basket and get to the line, their uncharacteristically poor decision-making or sloppy ball-handling. What was alarming was ..."
Raptor alarmed by lack of team focus
Comment
March 8
Toronto Star
 
"The Raptors can only hope some switch gets flipped and a sense of urgency will engulf a team that is far too often lackadaisical, both mentally and physically. They can only hope eventually they will "get it" and realize the fight they're in and start playing with a consistency of effort they'll need just to qualify for the NBA playoffs. Because if those things don't happen, if they continue to come up with games like Sunday's against Philadelphia, the final quarter of the season will be ugly."
Hype over Chris Bosh's virus too much to stomach
Comment
March 7
Toronto Star
 
"Chris Bosh was doubled over in agony, surrounded by a phalanx of the top medical minds in the world before being airlifted to a secret facility for super-duper treatment normal people can't get. Or not. Maybe the Raptors' power forward had a simple stomach virus, got dehydrated, was given intravenous fluids and was home and cooled out shortly after 10 o'clock. Maybe he was back at work a day later, looking fine and feeling well, wondering what all the fuss was about."
Bosh set to gut it out, should be back today against Sixers
Comment
March 7
Toronto Sun
 
"It was too much for Chris Bosh to stomach, too much discomfort for the Raptors' franchise player to bear. The team has acutely felt the pain of Bosh not being able to play and was ready to welcome back its go-to guy when adversity struck yet again in the hours leading up to Friday night's tip against the visiting New York Knicks. "I was hurting,'' Bosh began to recall following Saturday's practice. "I crunched over a few times." For purely precautionary reasons, Bosh was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was given an intravenous and later discharged. Medically speaking, Bosh had a stomach virus and was suffering from dehydration. Bosh means so much to the team and is asked to do so ..."
Knicks' leave 'D' at home in 102-96 loss in Toronto
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March 6
Bergen Record
 
"The Air Canada Centre crowd didn't boo Tracy McGrady as loud as they cheered Wayne Gretzky on Friday night. Yet, if only the Knicks exhibited the same kind of fervor on their inside defense that the Toronto fans did for The Great One or even T-Mac. Instead, surrendering 62 points in the paint to a team missing All-Star big man Chris Bosh, hospitalized before the game with cramps from a stomach virus, Mike D'Antoni's team lost its 40th game of the season, 102-96, to the Raptors. Lacking the kind of size inside that Bosh could help cure if he signed with the Knicks this summer, D'Antoni said, "We don't have a lot of resistance. That's a little bit of our size. We're a little size-challenged ..."
Tracy McGrady can relate to Chris Bosh
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March 6
Bergen Record
 
"Ten years ago, Tracy McGrady was where Chris Bosh is now, a warm-weather guy in a cold-weather city dealing with unfamiliar money in an unfamiliar country. "He's been here for quite some time now," McGrady said of the city where he spent his first three NBA seasons. "He's personally been successful. The team really hasn't done that much. Maybe he wants to start off with another franchise or maybe [he'd leave] for tax reasons." That's the Knicks' hope, that the Raptors' big man - whom LeBron James said is the 2010 free agent with whom he'd most like to play - forgoes Toronto after seven seasons to play in New York, with or without LBJ. Bosh didn't address that or anything else before or ..."
Raptors nick Knicks
Comment
March 6
Toronto Sun
 
"The Bosh-less era for the Raptors reached an unexpected seventh game Friday night. But unlike the past two games without The Franchise in uniform, the remaining Raptors didn't take his absence as a signal to roll over and play dead. Led by Jose Calderon and Sonny Weems, both players coming off the bench, the Raptors won an ugly one - 102-96 - over the visiting New York Knicks. Ugly as it might have been, it was equally necessary as the win allowed the Raps to hold on to their fifth place standing in the Eastern Conference, a hold that had been slipping with each game that Bosh missed. Bosh didn't make it to shoot-around Friday morning, an absence explained away as an upset stomach. He did ..."
Calderon fills leadership void
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March 6
Toronto Sun
 
"Jose Calderon has shot better and been more aggressive when looking to score. He has swung the ball quicker and found his teammates in transition from better angles. But there was something about Calderon's game Friday that was decidedly different, a pleasant departure that was absolutely needed in the absence of Chris Bosh, whose wonky ankle was replaced by chronic cramping in his stomach. They say that desperate times call for desperate measures and the plight of the Raptors was reaching a near-crisis point. As recently as two weeks ago, the Raptors were primed to separate themselves from the likes of Miami, Milwaukee, Chicago and Charlotte. Not quite good enough to catch the likes of an ..."
McGrady puts Houston problems in past
Comment
March 6
Toronto Star
 columnist Doug Smith
"Tracy McGrady has no legitimate shot at breaking a personal streak of NBA playoff disappointment this season and there are serious questions about where he will play and at how significant a salary cut next season. He's playing a relatively new position on a going-nowhere franchise with new teammates he's still not familiar with. Listen to him talk, though, and there's no place he'd rather be given where he's been the last year or so. "I'm just finally clearing everything behind that I went through, with the surgery and the bull crap with the Rockets," McGrady said Friday morning before going through a shootaround with the New York Knicks prior to their 102-96 loss to the Raptors at the ..."
Chris Bosh has chance to leave Toronto Raptors this summer, New York Knicks may lure forward
Comment
March 6
New York Daily News
 columnist Frank Isola
"Tracy McGrady took the first chance he got to leave Toronto and ended up playing for the Orlando Magic in his home state. Chris Bosh will have a similar decision to make this summer, and McGrady - who like Bosh began his career in Canada - can see the All-Star forward skipping town. "He's been here for quite some time now," McGrady said. "He personally has been successful. The team really hasn't done that much. Maybe he wants to start off fresh with another franchise. Or maybe he's doing it for tax reasons. "I'm not speaking (for) Chris Bosh. I'm just saying, the individual that wants to move on . . . there are different reasons why a guy wouldn't want to play (in Toronto)." The Knicks' ..."
New York keeps pace with Toronto early, but Knicks fall to Raptors, 102-96
Comment
March 6
New York Daily News
 
"Chris Bosh cut the Knicks a break by showing up for work Friday night with an upset stomach and taking off to the hospital for treatment. Hedo Turkoglu, the Raptors' second-best player who is somehow still working himself into shape in early March, spent the fourth quarter on the bench while Andrea Bargnani never found his shot. The Knicks seemingly had everything going in their favor, except the final score, of course. With Sonny Weems scoring a career-high 20points off the bench and the Knicks unable, yet again, to protect the basket, Toronto held on for a 102-96 victory. "As good as they are at home we should have won this game," David Lee said. "With Bosh not playing, this is a game we ..."
Young Raptors beat Knicks without hospitalized Bosh
Comment
March 6
Toronto Star
 
"It was the story of the night boiled down to one play, Sonny Weems on the wing, Tracy McGrady in front of him, the game pretty much in the balance. It was boy against man, young athlete against grizzled veteran and it really was no contest. Weems didn't smile when he saw the play present itself, but was pretty darn proud describing the game-sealing basket as the Raptors beat the New York Knicks 102-96 at the Air Canada Centre on Friday night. "Oh yeah, man, he's getting kind of old," Weems said of McGrady, a not-quite geriatric 30-year-old. "I'm quicker than he is, so I just tried to take advantage of that.""
Bosh misses shootaround with upset stomach
Comment
March 5
NBC Sports
 
"Chris Bosh was a surprise absence at the team shootaround due to an upset stomach. There's no word on his status for Friday night's game against the Knicks."
No touchy subject for Bosh
Comment
March 5
Toronto Sun
 
"Chris Bosh wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first. A beat writer brought up a recent study that showed Bosh is one of the touchiest guys in the league. It was only after it was explained to Bosh that the touchiness was referring to his penchant for high fiving teammates or making some physical connection of congratulations after a free throw or good play that Bosh caught on. "Oh yeah, I'm a big fan of the high five," a relieved Bosh said. "It's a little thing, but even coming out of games I try to give everybody on the bench a high five because it keeps everyone in the game ... High fives are cool. It's fun.""
Big stage beckons Jarrett Jack
Comment
March 5
Toronto Sun
 
"Chris Bosh speaks longingly about getting back to the big stage. He hungers for the NBA playoffs. Swears he'll do whatever it takes to get there. But a day after Bosh made crystal clear his own feelings about the playoffs along comes his Georgia Tech teammate Jarrett Jack and you wonder - as bad as Bosh wants it, does Jarrett Jack want it even a little bit more? No, this isn't a competition. Just an observation. Bosh has been there - twice in fact, a first-round casualty both times in his six seasons in the NBA. Watching the playoffs from his couch last year motivated Bosh like nothing else could. Jack, on the other hand, has never reached the playoffs in his four seasons in the ..."
Risky game for Raptors as Knicks have nothing to lose
Comment
March 5
Toronto Star
 
"As the NBA regular season inches closer to its conclusion and the battle for the post-season gets going in earnest, the league divides itself into haves and have-nots, those teams with legitimate playoff aspirations and those with nothing really to play for. And woe comes unto those teams with so much to play for if they fall prey to those with nothing really on the line; the standings of the past are littered with "haves" who were beaten by "have-nots" only to rue the days they lost those games. Sort of like the Raptors as they prepare to the face the New York Knicks at the Air Canada Centre on Friday night."
Bosh's turn to shine
Comment
March 4
Toronto Sun
 columnist Mike Ganter
"Chris Bosh is well aware of the impact his absence has had on the team. He's well aware the somewhat comfortable margin the Raptors once had over the three teams between them and another year watching the post season has dwindled to just about nothing. But instead of being frustrated by any of this or upset with it, Bosh is excited about the remaining 23 games. Having sat out for the past six with a sprained left ankle, Bosh, after a three-hour practice on Wednesday, was champing at the bit to get back on the floor. The ankle is healed. The body is rested. It's time to play. The Raptors lost four of the six games he missed and now sit just a half game out of falling into sixth and just ..."
Raps' Evans gets down and dirty
Comment
March 4
Toronto Sun
 
"Dirtiest player in the NBA? Reggie Evans can live with that. In fact, the fan favourite in Toronto thanks the 173 fellow NBAers who voted him that dubious honour in a recent Sports Illustrated poll. Evans was singled out by 21% of the voters as the dirtiest - never mind that he has only played eight games this season and doesn't even qualify for fouls per 48 minutes stat. The Lakers' Ron Artest was a distant second at 13%. Asked about the poll at practice Wednesday, Evans said he first heard about it from a fan on this Twitter account. Evans wasn't sure what the fan was referring to until rookie DeMar DeRozan spilled the beans Wednesday morning."
Ball movement needed for Raps' rebound
Comment
March 4
Toronto Sun
 
"First Jay Triano counted them. Then he showed them to the whole team. On 22 possessions on Monday night the Raptors had either one pass or no passes before throwing up a shot. For a team that prides itself and depends on swinging the ball and sharing the ball, this was a recipe for disaster and that's exactly what the Raptors got in a lopsided loss to Houston. It was completely uncharacteristic of this team, and as angry as it made Triano, he can now understand it. "Everyone tried to pick up the slack individually," Triano said, referring to his team that was missing not just Chris Bosh but also Jose Calderon and Hedo Turkoglu, if only for the second half. "I appreciate the fact that ..."
Bargnani, Calderon, Turkoglu miss practice on Wednesday, questionable for Friday
Comment
March 4
Toronto Sun
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"Neither Turkoglu nor Calderon practised with the team yesterday. Both were in sweats staying on top of their conditioning but unable to participate in the formal part of practice. Andrea Bargnani came down with a flu bug and did not even make it to the ACC. No one knows for sure, but based on the severity of their injuries, Calderon and Bargnani should be back with Turkoglu having an outside shot at playing Friday."
Bosh returns to action Friday with something to prove
Comment
March 4
Toronto Star
 
"As March arrived a year ago, Chris Bosh was a beaten man. His team's season was in the toilet, a coach had been fired and the interim replacement's future was cloudy at best, a major trade had taken place that reshaped the roster, a robust start for him personally had petered out tremendously and he was just waiting for the Raptors season to end. The playoffs? A fantasy. Something to be watched from afar, not something he'd experience again. Now given the opportunity he missed out on a year ago, when his team began the penultimate month of the regular season with a 23-38 record, Bosh vows to show all how much a post-season spot means to him."
Injured Raptors Bosh, Calderon and Turkoglu listed as questionable for Friday
Comment
March 3
Toronto Sun
 (scroll down)
"Calderon was out in Houston after sustaining a cut to his elbow in Oklahoma City. He was kept out on Monday for fear on an infection as a precautionary reason. More will be known at Wednesday’s practice, but Calderon assured everyone that his injury isn’t serious. Bosh has missed the last six games, didn’t accompany the team on its two-game trip, and should be ready for Friday’s contest. Hedo Turkoglu finally makes a drive to the hole, but fitting of his season in Toronto he lands on the foot on Rockets forward Jared Jeffries and sprains an ankle."
Raptors in no mood to panic after four straight losses
Comment
March 3
Toronto Star
 
"It would be so much harder for them to cope with if they hadn't been through it before, so much more difficult to deal with if they were playing at full strength. No, these are not good times for the Raptors at all – four straight losses, the last two when they were barely competitive – but if they've learned anything in the first three quarters of the season, it's that things can turn on a dime. Or on the return of a couple injured players and the chance to play teams that have less talent in the comfort of their home gym."
Get well soon, Bosh
Comment
March 2
Toronto Sun
 
"Basketball life without Chris Bosh has been difficult for the Raptors, a team that gets exposed and, at times, abused minus its anchor. When a franchise player is unavailable, good teams look to their supporting cast to shoulder the burden, to demand the ball on offence when a play needs to be made or get on teammates on defence when rotations aren't tight and decisive. As they prepared to play the host Rockets on Monday night, the Raptors still were searching for a way to play a decent team without Bosh, who remained in Toronto nursing a sore ankle. Three straight losses followed the Raptors into Texas, but it's the long-term that should worry followers of the team. As if anyone needed to ..."
Shorthanded Raptors lurch to another defeat
Comment
March 2
Toronto Star
 
"The Raptors are simply lurching from game to game these days, discombobulated and short-handed, unable to cope, unable to win, unable to figure anything out. They know from past experience things can turn around and they have the ability to play good basketball, which is the only thing keeping them from fracturing completely through another tough stretch of a roller-coaster season. With Jose Calderon sitting out due to a cut on his right elbow, Hedo Turkoglu taking the second half off with a bad ankle and with Chris Bosh back home in Toronto nursing his sore left ankle, the Raptors were drilled 116-92 by the Rockets here Monday in a game that evoked memories of the horrific defence of the ..."
Hedo Turkoglu takes second half off after spraining his ankle
Comment
March 2
Toronto Star
 
"The Raptors are simply lurching from game to game these days, discombobulated and short-handed, unable to cope, unable to win, unable to figure anything out. They know from past experience things can turn around and they have the ability to play good basketball, which is the only thing keeping them from fracturing completely through another tough stretch of a roller-coaster season. With Jose Calderon sitting out due to a cut on his right elbow, Hedo Turkoglu taking the second half off with a bad ankle and with Chris Bosh back home in Toronto nursing his sore left ankle, the Raptors were drilled 116-92 by the Rockets here Monday in a game that evoked memories of the horrific defence of the ..."
Thunder rolls over Raptors
Comment
March 1
The Oklahoman
 
"For the second straight game, the Thunder jumped on an outmanned opponent and never let off the throttle, romping to a 119-99 win over Toronto Sunday night in the Ford Center. Steamrolling the Raptors without All-Star Chris Bosh, who missed his fifth consecutive game, the Thunder moved within a half game of fifth-place Phoenix in the Western Conference standings. "We treat every team the same," said Kevin Durant, who scored a game-high 29 points. "Any given night, you can lose in this league. No matter what the team's record is, they can come out and beat you. That's the way we think. We respect every team we play." All teams say that. But Boston lost at home Saturday to the lowly New ..."
DeRozan going A-Wall
Comment
March 1
Toronto Sun
 
"It's been a baptism by fire for DeMar DeRozan in his rookie year in the NBA and the Raptors rookie appears to be feeling the heat just a little bit more, right now. In the past three games — a pair of losses and a win over the Washington Wizards — DeRozan has all but disappeared. A total of eight points in the three games is what he normally averages in a single game. As usual, the statistics alone do not tell the story. DeRozan is at his best when he's attacking the basket and forcing opponents to contend with his freakish athleticism. That, too, has been missing of late. Monitored The Raptors have carefully monitored his minutes and brought him along slowly, but is this at last that ..."
No masking Hedo's frustration
Comment
March 1
Toronto Sun
 
"Hedo Turkoglu no longer requires a mask to protect his orbital bone under his right eye, but he's not masking his frustration. Say what you want about the underachieving Turkoglu, but he wears his emotions on his sleeve and his patience is beginning to wear thin. Had Friday's potential winner found net, maybe his mood would have been different in Sunday's meeting with the host Thunder. At a time when he can use any break, Turkoglu is getting none. On his first foray to the hoop, Turkoglu got bumped when he went strong by using his right hand. There was no call and the call went against the Raptors when the officials ruled the ball went off Turkoglu's leg and into the courtside seats for a ..."
Bosh-less and hopeless
Comment
March 1
Toronto Sun
 
"Bosh-less and completely hopeless, the Raptors became nothing more than a glorified practice team for the host Thunder on Sunday night. Everyone knew the Raptors would eventually struggle without their franchise player, but no one could have envisioned how inept the Raptors would be without Chris Bosh. With their 119-99 loss to the uptempo Thunder, the Raptors are now 2-3 without Bosh, a number that figures to get worse with a Monday meeting against another high-octane team in the form of the Houston Rockets. About the only good news is the amount of off days that await the Raptors, time that will give Bosh additional time to heal his ankle. Following Monday night's tip in Houston, the ..."
Jay Triano fumes as Raptors' slump deepens
Comment
March 1
Toronto Star
 
"Team meeting in the morning? The last time the Raptors found themselves in a predicament something like this – the last time they had a three-game losing streak, one punctuated by a thumping administered by a hungrier young team – they held the now-infamous team meeting in Washington that turned the season around. And while the straits are not nearly as dire today as they were in early December, there was definitely something out of sync with the team Sunday night. A 119-99 pasting at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder pales in comparison to the meeting-prompting 146-115 thrashing in Atlanta but the three-game losing streak Toronto's on right now has shown some glaring deficiencies. ..."
Bosh-less and hopeless - Rap's lose third straight without star
Comment
March 1
Toronto Sun
 
"Bosh-less and completely hopeless, the Raptors became nothing more than a glorified practice team for the host Thunder on Sunday night. Everyone knew the Raptors would eventually struggle without their franchise player, but no one could have envisioned how inept the Raptors would be without Chris Bosh. With their 119-99 loss to the uptempo Thunder, the Raptors are now 2-3 without Bosh, a number that figures to get worse with a Monday meeting against another high-octane team in the form of the Houston Rockets. About the only good news is the amount of off days that await the Raptors, time that will give Bosh additional time to heal his ankle. Following Monday night's tip in Houston, the ..."
Free-agent talk gets the ki-Bosh
Comment
February 28
The Oklahoman
 
"Larry Coon can give wishful-thinking Thunder fans 16 million reasons why Toronto Raptors All-Star forward Chris Bosh wouldn't fit in Oklahoma City. And his reasoning, the most rational amid a recent stream of fan fantasies, best explains why the Thunder isn't likely to land Bosh, one of the premier players expected to be available in this summer's free-agent market. "The Thunder is already committed to 11 players (next season), totaling about $40 million," said Coon, who is widely regarded as the leading authority on the NBA salary cap. "Since Bosh will be eligible to earn about $16.6 million, the Thunder won't have the cap room for him." Bosh, whose Raptors make their lone visit to the ..."
Bosh left behind, will miss next two games
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February 28
Toronto Sun
 
"It's going to be at least two more games before the Raptors get the franchise back on the floor. Chris Bosh and his sprained left ankle weren't on the team charter when it took off for Oklahoma City on Saturday and he won't be with the club in Houston on Monday either. "We're going to leave him home, let him get some treatment over the next couple of days, get some work here (in the practice gym) and he'll be ready for Friday when we get back," head coach Jay Triano said Saturday at practice. LINEUP TWEAKS Triano toyed with the idea of having someone other than Rasho Nesterovic step in for Bosh in his starting five during Friday's game against Cleveland, but opted against it. He's not ..."
Lightning-fast Thunder will be a difficult challenge for Raptors
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February 28
Toronto Star
 
"To some casual fans, they are something of an unknown entity, save for one emerging star, and certainly not the behemoths from Cleveland that the Raptors battled on Friday night. But rest assured, the Oklahoma City Thunder, with Kevin Durant scoring at a shockingly effective pace, have the respect and attention of a Toronto team reeling from two straight losses and still missing its top player. Chris Bosh, who'll now miss six games with what was announced as a mild left ankle sprain suffered a week-and-a-half ago, remained in Toronto when the team left Saturday and will miss games here Sunday night and in Houston on Monday."