Chris Bosh: Is the Toronto Raptors All-Star Underappreciated?

January 7, 2010

by Stephen Brotherston… Chris Bosh has been selected to the Eastern conference All-Star team the past four consecutive years mostly by NBA coaches but has had trouble being voted to start by the fans.

One of a handful of dominate players capable of averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds and one of a dozen players chosen to play for the 2008 gold medal winning USA Olympic basketball team, one might wonder why Chris Bosh has yet to obtain the same level of recognition as other players in the NBA.

And it has been suggested by some that Bosh is even under-appreciated in his home market of Toronto. Some fans and media types prefer to focus on what Bosh has been unable to accomplish in his six full seasons playing for the Raptors.

Chris Bosh was chosen fourth overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 2003 NBA draft. The 6′-11.5″ 225 lb freshman from Georgia Tech was barely 19 years old and probably closer to 210 lbs than his pre-draft camp measurement when he came to the NBA that fall.

For some unknown reason, the NBA decided to list his height as 6′-10″ disregarding their own pre-draft camp measurement. Thus making Chris Bosh the tallest looking 6′-10″ power forward in the game today.

The Toronto Raptors got that fourth pick in 2003 because they were bad. A 24 wins and 58 losses bad!

But being bad meant that Chris Bosh started 63 games and averaged 33.5 minutes in his rookie season and the shinny 19-year-old kid averaged 11.5 points; 7.4 rebounds; and, 1.4 blocks.

The fact that the Toronto Raptors remained bad for Bosh’s first three seasons can hardly be blamed on him.

The team wasted high draft picks on busts like Rafael Araujo. Raptors All-Star Vince Carter demanded a trade at the start of the 2004 season and the subsequent deal crippled the team.

Later a failed experiment to bring in former All-Star Jermaine O’Neal to anchor the Raptors defense in 2008-09 returned the Raptors to the draft lottery in 2009.

But Bosh continued to develop his game through the team’s struggles becoming an All-Star in just his third season as a professional. Bosh was chosen by opposing teams’ coaches to be an All-Star despite being on a Raptors team that would finish the 2005-06 season with just 27 wins.

In his four seasons as an All-Star, Bosh has averaged a remarkable 22.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game—firmly establishing his position as a dominant power forward in the minds of opposing coaches.

The Toronto Raptors did win the Atlantic Division title in 2006-07 with 47 wins. But in two playoff appearances they were dismissed in the first round by New Jersey in 2007 and then Orlando in 2008.

Bosh’s Raptors Records

Now in his seventh Raptors season at the 35-game mark, Chris Bosh has finally surpassed the former All-Star who deserted the team in 2004 in points scored for the Toronto Raptors.

At 9,428 points, the next closest active Raptors player is Andrea Bargnani with 3,315. And with 47 games left in the 2009-10 regular season, Bosh is on track to be the first Raptor player to reach 10,000 points by sometime in early March.

But this wasn’t the first Raptors record that Bosh has affixed his name to.

Bosh passed Antonio Davis’ rebounding mark more than two years ago and currently leads the team in offensive boards with 1,279, defensive boards with 3,135, and total boards with 4,414.

The closest active Raptor to Bosh in total boards is Andrea Bargnani with 1,165.

Other Raptors records that have fallen to Chris Bosh in recent years without much fanfare include minutes played 17,516, free throws made 2,772, free throws attempted 3,942, and blocks 571.

Before the end of this season, Bosh will pass Vince Carter (3,541 FG) for the most field goals made.

Next year Bosh will finally surpass Morris Peterson (542 games) for the most games played as a Raptor and Vince Carter (7,944 FGA) for the most field goal attempts.

From an overall perspective, Chris Bosh leads the Raptors in win shares at 57.6, ahead of second place Vince Carter with 47.7 and fourth place Jose Calderon with 25.8. No other current Raptors make the team’s top 10 list for win shares.

Bosh’s Personal Bests

In his seventh NBA season, Chris Bosh came to camp 10-20 pounds heavier than at any point in his NBA career. An off-season regime designed to help him take his game to the next level.

Over the first 35 games, Chris Bosh is setting personal bests in points 23.7, offensive rebounding 3.3, defensive rebounding 8.1, total boards 11.3, free throws made 7.0, free throws attempted 9.0, field goals made 8.3, and field goal percentage of 51.8 percent.

Bosh currently ranks eighth in scoring and sixth in rebounding among all NBA players.

Bosh’s individual game personal best in points was 42 against Phoenix on December 12, 2007 where he also set personal bests with 22 free throws made and 24 free throws attempted.

Bosh reached 42 points again against the New Jersey Nets on November 21, 2008.

On two occasions Bosh has torn down 22 rebounds. Although this season’s best is only 17 so far.

In the playoffs, Bosh’s personal best game came against Orlando at the ACC on April 26, 2008 when he went off for 39 points and 15 rebounds in a game four loss.

NBA Comparisons

At just 25 years old Bosh has yet to make serious dents in the NBA record books.

But last season, Bosh was one of just four players who managed a 20-point, 10-rebound season. This was the second time in the past three years that Bosh has averaged 20 and 10.

And Bosh finished the 2008-09 season ninth in scoring, sixth in rebounding, and seventh in double-doubles. The second season in a row Bosh was a top 10 scorer.

There shouldn’t be any question that Bosh is an elite player within the NBA ranks in addition to holding many of the Raptors individual records.

Is Chris Bosh Underappreciated?

Bosh does receive a significant amount of criticism from the media and fans for the teams inability to advance past the first round of the playoffs and for last season’s collapse.

But perhaps this is just the burden of any star player whose team has not advanced as far as fans have hoped it would?

In the Toronto media, Chris Bosh is the focus for Raptors coverage by the numerous specialty sports TV and radio channels, the four major newspapers, and at least a dozen well read independent blogs.

And with the NBA’s focus on individual stars over its franchises, there are bound to be some stories written about players that do not have a positive spin. There just isn’t enough unique and interesting “news” to go around.

But if one advances a story that the Raptors should move their star player, the support for Chris Bosh to remain in Toronto becomes obvious.

Almost everyone in Toronto realizes that Chris Bosh cannot be replaced. Bosh is the team’s best player and one of the best players in the NBA.

And while Bosh may get overlooked in other NBA markets, he is only overlooked until someone runs a story that he might be coming to their team.

With Chris Bosh holding a player’s option to become a free agent at the end of this season, why are there references to Bosh attaining additional Raptors records next season?

Well, it’s because the Raptors All-Star Chris Bosh is not going anywhere!

Brothersteve’s Green & Red Raptor Blog

Paddle the Head River

December 20, 2009

www.FISHblast.com - The Head River runs roughly parallel to the Monck Road, traversing the southern reaches of the Canadian Shield from east to west. For the most part there is no evidence of human activity along much of the length of the river.

The vistas are frequently stunning and an abundance of wildlife will be in evidence. Please note that parts of the Head river will require fairly high skill levels, and are not for the inexperienced canoeist. We have added a road map and a few topographical maps to let you get a better idea of the terrain and vegetation.

Wildlife is abundant and it is virtually guaranteed that you will see some, especially if you  have learned to  paddle soundlessly. The many picturesque falls and rapids make excellent photographic opportunities as well. If you go there with the idea of taking your time and letting your senses absorb what is available you will enjoy it despite some areas that take a little  effort.

We will look at the river in sections as if we were to start in Head lake and paddle downstream. To enter the Head River from Head Lake you must start further down the lake and paddle up to the river because the road is private where it crosses the bridge and the locals are vigilant and they mean private.

The first half of the trip from the lake to 503 (Monck road about 2 km east of Uphill) is wide, flat and generally swampy along the sides. There is a small dam and then life gets much more interesting. There are multiple rapids and small falls. Only a few of these are runable and some require 50- 200 meter portages. The only difficulty is that there are no portages so bushwhacking with a canoe on your head really describes it better. Several of the rapids and falls are very picturesque. Fallen logs are plentiful so lift outs or scraping under are common also. You can expect turtles, ducks, warblers, beavers, otters and muskrats and a good chance of spotting some larger mammals. Including lunch by a pretty little swift, it takes about 5-6 hrs.

From the Monck Road to  County Rd 35 south of Uphill takes 2-3hrs.  You start by ducking your head to get under the culvert and then wishing you had a saw to cut some of the branches and tangles that confront you. Before long you emerge into what I have called the Uphill swamp which is most of this part. The river takes a tortuous course and the vegetation is extremely green. There are lots of ducks including some eared grebes (which are supposed to be out west). They had nested and had young. River mammals are common and we saw some deer when we were there. Before you reach 35 there is a slightly faster little swift (not enough to call a rapid.) If you take out there you will find poison ivy on the downstream side of the bridge and an owner on the upstream side who is not a believer that the road allowance belongs to the County.   –Take your choice.

From 35 to McKenzie Rd is a beautiful stretch. In June the wildflowers are out, the water is warm, the sky is azure and beside the periodic gurgling of the water and the territorial birds there is a great silence, broken only occasionally by a gust of wind  in the tree tops  This section is virtually uninhabited so if you have problems you are  along way  from help. There are multiple sets of delightful rapids and a few falls over limestone ridges.  Cross river deadfalls are common also. Only experienced white water people should tackle this piece of river. There are no recognizable portages.  I had a couple of different events happen. In one place I could see a fish struggling under water. On closer scrutiny a snapping turtle had bitten into its belly and was not going to let go.  In another place I could see something white as I approached a small swift. As I passed over it I could see that it was a deer skeleton with the head impaled on a snag and the rest of the bones and ligaments still intact  waving in the current –ghostly! Presumably it had fallen through the ice in the winter and all the flesh had been devoured since then.  Time accumulated to this point is about 6 hours.

From Mckenzie Rd to Lake Dalrymple Rd. for many years was more or less my own private white-water domain. The last few years a number of white water canoe groups have started to use it for the spring runoff. Its hard to keep a secret that good. Again there are several rapids of different grades The largest is a grade 3-4 depending on the volume of water. It is  150-200 meters long with a 3-4 ft falls in the middle and curves around 2 corners. The total drop would be 20-25 ft   -fun and a challenge too. Incidentally there is a place along the way that comes close to the road where you can stop for a butter tart. This is the prime white water area so be aware.  2 hours

After lake Dalrymple Road quiet water  for the most part with one exception to get your attention.  The Head River creek from Lake Dalrymple comes in from the left before you get to the Monck Road again. It might be an interesting diversion to paddle up there a bit. Expect wildlife. 2-3hours

The Monck Rd (at Young’s lake) to Sadowa Rd north of Sebright has some gentle rapids but nothing worrisome. The creek from Young’s lake which enters from the left is full of fish if you are lucky enough to be there in the spring. On the right Cranberry River enters.  It is generally full of logs and bush and is not recommended. It is a long, long way to Cranberry Lake and besides it is privately owned.

The most commonly used part of the river is from the Sadowa Road. bridge to Hwy 69 near the wilderness campground southeast of Washago. This is the Black river by then, the Head having joined several km’s upstream. Most paddlers with some experience can enjoy this section. The first 2 rapids are the most difficult and there are easy portages on the left side of both. They are quite close together so portage both at once if you are not going to run them.  There is some good fishing in this section. Strangely enough if you do this section just after the ice goes out you may be able to take  a shortcut through the trees for about  a ½ Km and avoid the junction Its a lot like skiing the glades. It comes out into a little pond off the left side of the Black that is usually full of ducks. Be aware that in the spring runoff the Black is powerful with lots of boils and eddies so watch those eddy lines. 3 hours – The most important thing  of all is to go prepared, give yourself lots of time and relate to the wilderness. The rewards are immense.

By Dr. Harry Hall… (reprinted from The Prairie Smoke 3.3)

2009 – A Year Full of Fantastic Finishes

December 9, 2009