Watched live at ACC
Being at this game was unlike any other game I have ever been to. In a season where not much was expected of the Raptors, the club has neither disappointed nor surprised. The Raptors are trudging through a mediocre season with a mediocre team that was never expected to make the playoffs anyways, and now seem a distant dream. Even though the teams had met in Miami twice already this season, it was the first in T.O. This being the case, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat coming to town means more than ANY other game this season for the team, but most importantly for the town. Bosh, Toronto’s all-time leader in points, rebounds, and blocks, took his talents to South Beach this summer and has found jeers rather than cheers from not just Raps fans, but the entire NBA. The Heat are the unquestioned villains of the NBA, the Yankees, the Goliath, and as such they find no love especially in T.O. I had not decided whether to boo or not, and held my breath during the raucous booing during the warmup and player introductions for Bosh. I didn’t boo Gilmour, Sundin, Delgado or Halladay for taking their talents elsewhere, I applauded their T.O. toils and wished them the best in “greener” pastures. For seven years Bosh was the man, and I still appreciate his low-post arsenal and he has some of the best footwork of any big man in the league. I like his game, but let me clarify, I like his offensive game.
The Raptors put up a strong effort for real in this game. Let me tell you, seeing Bargnani go hard at Bosh and post him up on some of the early possessions has never made me happier. Bargs’ arsenal of stutter-steps, jukes, and head fakes followed by lanky drives to the basket are a product of being a Bosh protigé in his NBA youth, and it was great to see them match up. Bargnani put on a show on offense hitting clutch three-pointers (something Bosh never mastered though he tried), with 17 points in the fourth quarter en route to 38 points. Plenty of highlights by the Miami trio, reverse dunk by Bargnani and a nice put-back dunk by DeMar, and a solid competitive game altogether. DeMar had 24, but some Miami guys had a combined 76 points (I don’t remember their names, something like James, something like Wade). Bosh himself had 25 and 6 boards. The game was actually winnable and close late, but Calderon missed open mid-range jumpers on consecutive final-minute possessions, and Bargnani was exposed on the defensive end. For all of Bargs offensive outpour, he could not clog the lane, change shots or intimidate defenders and his 4 total rebounds was truly telling. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, Miami had a couple of rough seasons after their chip in ’06 (including a 15 win debacle in the 07-08 season), but their highs and lows balance out. The Raps can only hope that some day their careful planning, flexibility, cap space, and euro/ young talent can lead them to “greener” pastures right here in Toronto.
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