Why Chris Bosh Unfairly Gets the Blame

Bosh unfairly gets the blame.

You may well have heard about Toronto Raptor's all-star Chris Bosh supposedly telling the team's GM, Bryan Colangelo, that he will not be re-signing with the Raptors when the time comes.

However, there were no detailed sources for this claim, plus Bosh and Colangelo both denied the report.

Will we ever actually find out if Bosh did say this?

Probably not.

But either way, it's had an effect already.

Because you may have also already seen the heaps of articles labelling Bosh as a sulking, wimpy forward who cares not for the team's record and only of his own stats.

Congratulations Raptors fans.

Not only have you started boo-ing your own team (yes they are the league's most disappointing team, but since when did boo-ing help?) but you have named your best player as the reason for this disappointment.

Let's get this out of the way, for whatever reason, the Toronto Raptors are not a brilliant basketball team.

They can be. They've got some great fire power, and many skilled players, but the pieces of the puzzle aren't fitting together, and its resulting in losses.

Of course, since this is Bosh's team, he gets the blame.

Bosh was scorching hot at the beginning of the season and was an early candidate for the M.V.P award. Of course the Raptors record soon took care of this and Bosh eventually cooled off.

If you can really call 23.4 PPG cooling off. He is grabbing 10 boards a game aswell, while shooting a fraction under 50 percent from the field. He averages a point more than Amare Stoudamire, and two boards more (though I will grant Amare shoots a higher percentage and gets more blocks).

They sound like MVP numbers to me; it is only the team that holds him back.

I have read article recently that portray Bosh as merely a talented scorer, whose 'child-like' frame keeps him from the paint and forces him into mid-range jumpers.
They say that Bosh is selfish, that he has given up on his team and no longer cares.

They say his fire has diminished, his passion has dwindled. He no longer argues calls with refs or gets on his teammates when they make a mistake.

This is not a man who does not care ladies and gents, this is a man who hates to lose. And it shows.

Bosh is rapidly becoming the new version of Kevin Garnett. A great, multi-talented forward who is stuck on a team who don't know what they are doing. (I'm not saying Bosh is a good as KG was in his prime, just that the situations are similar.)

The losing has got to him, because he is a man who wants to win so badly.

I challenge any player in the league to be in Bosh's position and not hang his head a little.

Many other players would simply stretch out an 'injury' so that they don't receive the blame.

But Bosh is still going out there every night, trying to find a way to win.

Yes, he shoots mid-range jumpers...but they go in, so what's the problem?

No, he isn't built like Shaq, or Dwight Howard, but it hasn't slowed him down yet, so whats the problem?

There is no denying Bosh's talents as a basketball player. I'm not saying he's perfect, I don't know if he would be on my personal All-NBA Team, but he is still pretty dam good.

The Raptors got lucky a couple of years ago when they won their division, and this unfortunately set the bar too high for this team.

Again, there are many players that are very talented on the Raptors roster.

Jose Calderon is near perfect as a point guard, but he lacks the spark and aggressiveness that is sometimes needed, I would personally prefer to see him in a back-up role.

Jermaine O'Neal, though definitely nothing like his former self, can still be productive when healthy.

And Andrea Bargnani has been a pleasant surprise in the last few months.

But this simply isn't enough, and people are beginning to get annoyed that Bosh cannot carry them all the way by himself.

But then who can? Has Kobe Bryant ever won a championship on his own? Did Wilt Chamberlain? Surely Michael Jordan?

No, of course they did not, no-one ever has, and no-one ever will.

Sure, a few have come close. Allen Iverson. LeBron James. But there are too many different factors to consider to compare these, and at the end of the day, teams win championships, not players.

So why have people dismissed Bosh so early? Why do some want him out of town?

Surely you can see there aren't too many players around like him? Why isn't management doing a better job or building around him, as well as developing Bargnani and helping Calderon with some back-up.

There are many things the Toronto Raptors do not have (a winning record being the most important) but there are several things they do have:

A Canadian Coach.

A vendetta against Vince Carter.

Memories of truly awful uniforms.

And a great star player, who has done nothing to warrant the blame that has been piled on him this week.