Bosh starting to bloom
Raptor shows he could become perennial all-star Solid play in low post draws raves around NBA
WASHINGTON— Amid all the gloom that’s engulfed the Raptors, there has been some greatness. Lost in the wretched record are some stunning statistics.
While there has been little to crow about for a franchise still plumbing the depths of the NBA standings, the play of Chris Bosh has given rise to thoughts that he will be the team’s next truly great player, an all-star, one of the best at his position in the league. On a team that’s 3- 15 — although one that’s shown in the last two games that the promise of a rosier future seems legitimate — Bosh’s play has not only been exemplary, it’s been one of the few consistent aspects of every game so far this season.
“ That’s as good as I’ve seen him play since he’s been in the league,” is the assessment of teammate Morris Peterson, and it’s hard to argue with him.
Bosh’s numbers — 21.4 points per game, 10.1 rebounds per game — put him among the elite in the NBA and the consistency of his effort is second to none on his team. And, as the team’s best player, it’s heart- warming to his coaches that he’s also among the team’s hardest workers.
“He’s not like one of those guys, the superstars who think they have to do everything their way,” Peterson said after Bosh’s season- high 29 points led Toronto to a 95- 82 win in New Jersey on Saturday night. “ He wants to play within the team, do what he can do to help.”
Bosh’s play through 18 games has caught the eye of many scouts and the men who’ll select the American teams for this summer’s world championships and the 2008 Olympics. His growing reputation around the league — a solid low- post player with good range on his jump shot and a willingness to rebound at both ends of the court — are only going to help him in a couple of months when coaches have to select the backups for the NBA all- star game.
It would be logical to assume Indiana’s Jermaine O’Neal as the top power forward in the East, but there is surely a case to be made that Bosh is second, ahead of promising youngster Dwight Howard in Orlando and Chris Webber in Philadelphia. The unassuming 21- year-old Bosh admits he’s playing better now than he has at any time in his short career, but in typical fashion he’s got a simple explanation.
“ Just growing up, learning, being aggressive out there early in the game, but also sharing the ball. I just want to average 10 rebounds a game and that’s just going to get them, plain and simple. Rebounding is just about how much you want the ball,” he said.
Sharing the ball may be the thing that sets Bosh apart from his statistical contemporaries the most. The 6- foot- 11 Texan never seems to dominate the ball in Toronto’s offence, since he’s become an adept passer out of the inevitable double teams he sees. He gets a huge chunk of his points from the free throw line — he’s shot 133 foul shots, almost double the next- closest Raptor — and gets an average of more than 10 points a game from the foul line.
“ That’s one thing I don’t think we were doing before, getting points in the paint and getting to the free throw line,” Bosh said after Saturday’s win. “ When you do that, you put pressure on the defence and that opens up wideopen outside shots.”
Bosh’s impact goes beyond his points, rebounds and assists. The attention he’s getting from defences — which is another reason his statistics are so impressive — has opened up all kinds of space for Charlie Villanueva to emerge as one of the league’s top rookie scorers.
All those so- called experts who feared the Raptors couldn’t possibly use two young, relatively small power forwards at the same time have to be scratching their heads when they see how successful Bosh and the rookie Villanueva (12 points, six rebounds a game) have been.