Chris Bosh Ends Preseason Ready To Go

The Toronto Raptors finished the preseason with another loss, 90-98. This time to the lowly and under-manned Minnesota Timberwolves. There will be signs of panic from some corners as the Raptors finished the preseason with only two wins in eight tries, however it is important to remember these games didn’t count.

Fortunately these preseason scrimmages have accomplished one thing, Chris Bosh is officially ready to start playing for real. Bosh played over 36 minutes for the first time this preseason and as importantly, Bosh played over 16 minutes in the second half and was on the floor for the final 7:05.  And Bosh played big with 27 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocked shots.

Actually they accomplished a couple more things as well.

Jose Calderon played starter’s minutes for the first time this preseason with over 38 minutes played.  And Jose played well too getting 17 points, six boards, six assists, two steals, with just one turnover.

DeRozan started at shooting guard again with Hedo Turkoglu at small forward giving fans another glimpse at the likely starting line-up for Wednesday night at the ACC.  DeRozan’s 21 minutes of playing time may also be an indication of something.

The Raptor’s starting unit was laying a beating on the T-wolves for the first five minutes of this game rushing out to a 18-4 lead.  Bargnani was 3-of-3 for six points; Calderon had five points and two rebounds; Bosh with four points; DeRozan had three points and had already been to the line for two free throws; and, Turkoglu had a pair of assists.

But Turkoglu left the game at the 6:50 mark after missing a three-pointer and was replaced by Wright.  Soon after things began to slip.

Much like Turkoglu’s first preseason game, it would be safe to assume Wright would rather not have played in front of a crowd.  At least it wasn’t on television.

Wright entered the game and immediately missed a layup.  Soon after he turned the ball over on a bad pass.  Then turned it over by traveling.  Wright finished off his first quarter back with a couple of fouls to have a nice zero points, assists, and rebounds to go with his two turnovers and two fouls.

At the end of the first quarter, the T-wolves had closed the gap to 25-28 Raptors.

But Wright wasn’t the only sub to struggle coming into the game.  Amir Johnson replaced Bargnani at the 4:05 mark and managed two turnovers, a foul, a rebound, and two steals in the first quarter.  Not exactly ideal, but at least he was active.

The Raptors started the second quarter with Jarrett Jack at the point and within a minute substituted Calderon back in for Wright.

With Calderon, Jack, Turkoglu, Bosh, and Bargnani on the floor together the team played well.  More importantly, Calderon and Jack didn’t play badly together as had been the case for most of the preseason.  By the time Calderon was substituted for, the Raptors had run the lead back up to seven.

Wright played the final 3:33 of the second quarter with only another turnover to show for it.

Unfortunately for the Raptors, Hedo Turkoglu didn’t return for the second half due to what looks to be a mild ankle sprain.  So Wright got additional time to work through his preseason rust.

At the start of the third, Wright played for three and a half minutes with a turnover and two missed shots before he and DeRozan were replaced by Belinelli and Weems.  The Raptors two point lead half-time had evaporated into a seven point deficit.

Not to mislead anyone, the whole blame for the Raptors’ inability to hold a lead cannot be laid solely on Wright.  All the Raptors except Bosh had a poor night’s shooting and if someone else could have stepped up, Wright’s break-in period might not have been so apparent.

The third quarter was Weems and Belinelli’s opportunity to show what they could contribute and unfortunately neither of them managed a single point in eight and a half minutes.  Weems did at least get three rebounds and a steal to avoid Belinelli’s ugly line of zeros.

Some good news did come in the fourth quarter.  With Calderon and Jack playing together again and Wright, Bargnani, and Nesterovic on the floor, Wright finally got a three rebounds and made a layup.  That must of felt good.

Then after Bosh replaced Nesterovic, Toronto went on a quick 5-0 run to pull within three as Wright grabbed his fourth rebound and made a jump shot and Bosh made a layup and a free throw.  But that was as close as Toronto would get.

Wright ended his night on a positive note with eight points, four rebounds, a steal, and a blocked shot all in the fourth quarter.  Hopefully shaking off enough rust to be effective at the home opener.

Andrea Bargnani finished a poor shooting night going 6 for 16 with 12 points, five boards, and three blocks.  Fouling out for the second game in a row.

Fouls and turnover may be more indicative of the refereeing than the players.  Bosh had five fouls and six turnovers and two of the turnovers were traveling calls.  The good news being the full-time NBA referees have reportedly agreed to a new contract in time for opening night.

This was a game the Raptors should have won handily but another poor shooting performance from the three-point line let an early lead slip away.  The Raptors were 2-of-20 from three.  Apparently even an intervention from a shooting consultant wasn’t enough to get these Raptors back on track.

There is still lots to do but little time to do it before the home opener in Toronto. However,

It looks like Calderon and Bosh are ready to go.

Calderon and Jack may be finding some chemistry.

Hopefully Turkoglu’s ankle sprain is mild.

And maybe Antoine Wright will be ready by Wednesday after all.

But the team had better find their shooting stroke fast.  It’s not going to be easy to go inside against Shaq and Big Z if no one is hitting their jumpers.