Sliding Fast
When Chris Bosh suffered a knee injury, the Toronto Raptors said he’d miss about a week. More than a week later, the Raptors are still anxiously awaiting his return.
Bosh isn’t expected to play on Sunday when the Raptors try to avoid their fifth loss in six games since he went down as they host the Seattle SuperSonics.
Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made Toronto –11 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 203.5 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 84% of bets for this game have been placed on Seattle +11 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
The All-Star forward hurt his knee in the first quarter of a game against Indiana on Feb. 29, and Toronto (33-28) went on to lose 122-111. Since then, the Raptors have dropped three of four games, including a 110-106 overtime loss to Washington on Friday night.
"There are just certain plays Chris can make and others can’t make," Toronto coach Sam Mitchell said. "You can put the ball in his hands and create matchups that other players just can’t."
An MRI revealed no structural damage to Bosh’s knee, and he remains listed as day-to-day. However, he’s expected to miss this game, and at least the opener of Toronto’s five-game Western Conference road trip that begins Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
"We miss everybody that’s out, not just Chris, we need everybody, all 15 guys," rookie forward Jamario Moon said after Friday’s defeat. "We still have to play ball and have to continue to do what we’ve been doing when we win. Like I said, we couldn’t make shots (tonight), we’ll come in tomorrow, get some shots up and try to win Sunday."
While the Raptors don’t expect to be able to replace their leading scorer and rebounder, they got a lift in their last outing from second-year forward Andrea Bargnani, who led the team with 27 points and five 3-pointers. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2006 draft has had a frustrating sophomore season, but he has topped 20 points three times in his last eight games and averaged 14.6 points in that stretch.
"We have lots of guys who can make plays," Raptors point guard Jose Calderon said.
Toronto hopes to take advantage of struggling Seattle (16-46), which has lost seven of eight and is on pace to finish with the worst record in franchise history. The Sonics need to win eight of their remaining 20 games to top their 23-59 mark from their inaugural 1967-68 campaign.
That likely won’t be possible if they continue to play like they did in Friday night’s 117-83 loss at Philadelphia.
"We did a very poor job as coaches, players, all of us," said Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo, whose team has given up at least 100 points in eight straight games. "That was just a terrible effort tonight."
The Sonics are 1-3 on their season-high seven-game road trip, and their lone win in that stretch is a 111-108 overtime victory over Western Conference-worst Minnesota.
"Nothing positive at all, honestly," said Carlesimo when asked what his club could take from its latest defeat. "As much as we need rest, we need to compete to try and get some energy back for Sunday."
For Seattle to bounce back, it will likely need another strong performance from Kevin Durant. The 6-foot-9 rookie guard had a modest 14 points – he’s averaging 19.4 – but shot 6-for-11 from the field on Friday. He’s shooting 40.5 percent this season, but has connected on 48.7 percent (37-for-76) in his last five games.
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
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