Bosh Still Hurt, Raptors Fans No Need to Sweat

[Acer]

Hey guys,

You might remember me from such classic posts as "Bosh is a medical mess" (google it if you don't remember.)

I am a happy man today.

Investing max money in a clear second banana who has never played a full year, always dips around playoff time, gets intimidated by tough PF's (Garnett, Wallace, etc), and whose body is frail enough that (and my source is even more adamant about this today) he only has probably about less than 3 years playing at this level before his body gives up on him, would be crazy.

I wrote in early May that there was no chance Bryan was signing that medical train wreck.

I was right.

We dodged a bullet today. Miami and New York have shot themselves in the heart this off-season; they are no longer threats for the next five years to win the conference.

All we can hope now is we dump Turk and Jose, do well in the lottery, and use our decent corps (7 footer Bargs, 6'10 Davis, Demar whom Kobe loves and is very high one, 6'11 Amir) to build something.

LA wins because they are huge: Bynum (7'1), Gasol (7'0), Odom at SF (6'11), etc. All big and very skilled. Bargs, Davis, and Amir are just as big and will become more skilled with time. We need to draft a franchise 2 or 3 like that kid Harrison next year, and we have a team to rival the Lakers.

[insight_tor]

I still don't understand why people consider Heat a championship contender just yet. Even with Wade and Bosh pairing up, there is still a lot of work to create a better team than Orlando or where James chooses to go. And this is just in east, on western conference you still have a pretty good team on Lakers, Dallas, OKC. Unless LeBron decides to join Heat, I think Heat is going to be a good team with Wade and Bosh, but I will be surprise if they will win a ring anytime soon.

[Mess]

I thought is was hilarious that Wilbon asked Wade if they were now contenders.

A contender with 4 players on the roster. Such stupidity.

[Acer]

Kobe > Wade
Gasol > Bosh
Blake > Chalmers
Odom >>>>>>>> Beasley
Bynum > ?
Artest > ?

[Dr. James Naismith]

And as Acer has alluded too in the past with Bosh's health (i.e. knees), let's see if he can get through an entire season without hitting the IR. It's great that you have two talents like Wade and Bosh, but if one or both go out because of injuries what will the Heat have for depth? Nothing at all.

[Acer]

Exactly.

That's why it's so important for Bryan to get Miami's #1 for the next two years.

Say Wade goes down for half the year....

Bosh + 11 min contract guys = .250% winning percentage.

Ditto with Bosh. If either gets hurt for a significant time (and Wade has gotten hurt a lot) they could be very good lottery picks.

[chris]

We need to draft a franchise 2 or 3 like that kid Harrison next year

i posted this in the other thread but i'll re-post here because i need an answer:

man what's the deal with that pick of ours that miami holds next year? i've searched all over the internet and cannot figure this out. is it protected at least? please tell me it's top 5 protected!

i can get on board with watching a young team struggle and develop next year if i know there's a high pick in the draft coming and a proper rebuild a la thunder, blazers, clippers, hawks, etc, is on the horizon. but if we gotta wait 'til after the new CBA and a potential lock-out for our next high pick i'll be so disheartened i dunno if i'll be able to muster any enthusiasm for raptors ball at all next year.

since you're so tight with the inner circle that runs our beloved franchise could you spell this out for me?

[Hotshot]

Just remember it will really count for Miami who are the other 6 guys that would follow after Bosh and Wade, afterall Wade only won when Shaq was around and still dominating and Bosh ain't no Shaq.

[Acer]

i posted this in the other thread but i'll re-post here because i need an answer:



since you're so tight with the inner circle that runs our beloved franchise could you spell this out for me?

Lottery protected until 2014-2015 draft.

[Tortacular]

Actually Wade was the dominant force in that playoff run.

But the NBA is different now. You're not gonna win with two stars and a bunch of scrubs. Not while teams like the current Lakers are around.

[chris]

Lottery protected until 2014-2015 draft.

oh thank god there is actually reason for optimism around here! thanks for the reply

[Tim W.]

Acer,

Let's not rewrite history here to make ourselves feel better. The "medical mess" thing was a hoax. There's simply absolutely no evidence to support the belief that Bosh is about to break down. Loads of players miss 5-10 games a year and never break down early. Shaq has lasted incredibly long despite constantly missing time with injuries.

As for Bosh being intimidated by tough PFs, he averaged 25.3 ppg on .644 shooting and 11.7 rpg against Boston this past season, so that doesn't actually support your theory.

I'm disappointed that Bosh has left, and certainly am not hoping for the best in Miami, but let's not start lying to ourselves. Bosh was a very good player who had his flaws, but they weren't nearly as bad as people around here are making them out to be. I'm going to focus on the future of the franchise and how the team can become a contender.

[Multipaul]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I "partially" agree with Tim W.

I disagree on Bosh's contributions to the team over 7 years.

I agree that we need to focus our attention on the positive, and the unique opportunity we have now to re-define, enhance, and excel as a team and as a fan base.

Goodbye Rupaul. I'm sure you and ballsinmouth Wade will have fun together in Miami.

[sleepz]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I "partially" agree with Tim W.

I disagree on Bosh's contributions to the team over 7 years.

I agree that we need to focus our attention on the positive, and the unique opportunity we have now to re-define, enhance, and excel as a team and as a fan base.

Goodbye Rupaul. I'm sure you and ballsinmouth Wade will have fun together in Miami.

Unique opportunity to get a top 3 pick in 2011, I agree.

You are bang on in your profile pic as well, cause Bargs is gonna wanna choke Bosh next year for leaving him by himself and exposing his lack of game on a nightly basis.

[DonCarlos]

Acer,

Let's not rewrite history here to make ourselves feel better. The "medical mess" thing was a hoax. There's simply absolutely no evidence to support the belief that Bosh is about to break down. Loads of players miss 5-10 games a year and never break down early. Shaq has lasted incredibly long despite constantly missing time with injuries.

As for Bosh being intimidated by tough PFs, he averaged 25.3 ppg on .644 shooting and 11.7 rpg against Boston this past season, so that doesn't actually support your theory.

I'm disappointed that Bosh has left, and certainly am not hoping for the best in Miami, but let's not start lying to ourselves. Bosh was a very good player who had his flaws, but they weren't nearly as bad as people around here are making them out to be. I'm going to focus on the future of the franchise and how the team can become a contender.

I'm not writing off the injury issue just yet. I'd like to make a few comments on this. Might be much ado of nothing, but bear with me:

1) Watch a clip of Bosh running up the floor in his rookie year and Bosh running the floor now. Yes, seven years difference, but Bosh is still in his mid 20s. He shouldn't be running around like if he was me.

2) Go back to Bosh's dunk over Theo Ratliff against Atlanta in his rookie year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIXrRy9-n8I

He has nowhere near this type of fluidity of motion or athleticism anymore. He's bigger and still quicker than most PFs, but he doesn't MOVE like this.

3) When Bosh starts running, he often starts with a little jump step to get himself going. I had to start doing this as well. That said, I'm in my mid 30s, 25 lbs overweight and with cartilage damage in my knees. It's because it hurts too much to plant your foot into the ground and run with power.

4) Bosh, in his rookie year, hyperextended his knee pretty badly and was back playing in far less time than expected. Now, he has innocuous injuries and misses more time than expected.

I could be reading too much into this, but, just sayin'.