NBA AM: Are The Raptors Finished?
Bosh Goes Down: The Toronto Raptors were barely alive in the NBA playoff race in the Eastern Conference with a one-game lead over Chicago for the 8th and final playoff spot. However, last night Antawn Jamison’s elbow may have given the Raptors a blow they may not recover from.
Chris Bosh, while trying to establish defensive position, caught an errant elbow in the nose and word is the nose is broken and Bosh could miss some time going forward.
The Raptors have ruled him out of tonight’s game versus the Celtics. The question is can Bosh return before Friday’s matchup in Atlanta? Insiders are saying it is unlikely.
Without Bosh, the Raptors will face an uphill fight with Boston and Atlanta and could find themselves behind Chicago, when they host the Bulls on Sunday. If the Raptors drop these next three games, there is a strong chance that’s the end of the playoff dream.
Raptors’ guard Jarrett Jack led the Raptors with 23 points and six assists last night and said winning without Bosh will be tough for his team, but injury does create opportunity.
"We have to keep fighting, regardless if we have him or not," said Jack. "It doesn’t get any easier and you can’t run. Timing is never perfect it seems in the NBA. It happens and you have to deal with it. It’s part of the game like anything else. Injuries are part of it.
"Chris is our horse, but we can’t panic. We have to stay together and keep pushing."
"As silly as this may sound, with Chris going down, it creates an opportunity for somebody to step up. You might have been wanting that playing time all season. It’s in front of you now. You have an opportunity to do something with it and come through for our team, because we’re going to need someone to step up if he’s not able to go."
Changing the Paradigm: There was a time when star level international players were coveted in the NBA. To some extent they still are, but the days of international players getting superstar treatment in the NBA has run its course.
Portland’s Rudy Fernandez is not unhappy being a Portland Trail Blazer, at least not to the point where he’s going to quit on the team, but Rudy has been clear several times this year that maybe, just maybe the NBA is not for him.
In speaking with Kerry Eggers of the Portland Tribune, Fernandez again said the words no Blazer fan wants to hear: "This summer, we’ll see."
Rudy has potentially two more years on his contract with Portland (they hold a team option for 2011-12), unless he reaches a contract buyout with the team. Rudy is not eligible to play in Spain, but that hasn’t stopped the Spanish media from peppering the situation with reports of multi-year major dollar contract offers that for once could have a player opting to buy himself out of an NBA deal to head back to international play.
Fernandez expected the NBA to open up for him like it did for international stars like Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki and while Portland "loves them some Rudy" he doesn’t have nearly the role he envisioned and the style of play in Portland doesn’t fit how Rudy wants to play.
If you are Portland do you really want to lock a guy into your roster that in his heart of hearts doesn’t want to be there?
This is not unique to Rudy Fernandez.
New York’s Sergio Rodriquez is expected to return to Spain this summer after stardom in the NBA didn’t happen for him. Juan Carlos Navarro already jumped back to international play, buying himself out of a deal with Memphis a few seasons ago. 2003′s #2 overall pick Darko Milicic has talked about how the NBA game wasn’t for him – that could change in Minnesota – but he’s talked openly about playing internationally next year too.
The NBA is an ever-changing league and the generation of the international star seems to have run its course. While Portland loves Rudy Fernandez, it’s not out of the question Rudy tries to buy himself out of Portland this summer – he’s hinted at it enough for it to be a real scenario.
It’s nothing personal. The NBA just hasn’t happened for Rudy as he’d hoped and unless Portland’s going to re-tool their style of play, Rudy Fernandez could very well be that other Spanish guy that didn’t work out and is back playing in Spain.
Beasley Need A Big Post Season: Two years ago Michael Beasley was the gem of college basketball. Most scouts assumed him to be a can’t-miss pro as he put up gaudy college numbers no one had ever seen before. There were some questions about maturity and focus, but everyone believed at the time that Beasley’s skills would be so suited for the NBA game the maturity issues would take care of themselves – even on a team as structured and disciplined as the HEAT.
{AUTHOR_BOX}Two years later, Beasley has started to show signs of being a very good NBA player, but those maturity concerns have derailed him and set him back on a HEAT team that desperately needs him to be the player they hoped to obtain when they took him with the 2nd overall pick in 2008.
Beasley’s name was kicked around a bit at the trade deadline and ultimately a deal did not get done, however sources close to the HEAT say how Beasley handles the HEAT’s run into the post-season and his overall play in the games that matter will go a long way towards deciding if the HEAT keep their mercurial forward or look to cash him out at draft time.
As HOOPSWORLD’s Jason Fleming mapped out this morning, the HEAT are sitting on $30.7 million in 2010 salary commitments and Beasley represents almost $5 million of it.
If Beasley can’t prove he’s part of the solution for Miami, word from South Beach is he could be traded on draft day to clear off the expense and get Miami some draft assets they can use to fill in the roster.
The post-season will be important for the HEAT, but for Michael Beasley it may ultimately decide his future in Miami.
NBA Chats: There will be just two NBA Chats today starting with my weekly NBA Rumors Chat at 10am EST. I’ll do my best to get to as many of your questions as possible. Coach Mike Moreau will be at the Portsmouth Invitational and won’t chat this week. Coach Mike will return next week to his normal chat time. Senior NBA Writer Tommy Beer will host the late day chat at 8pm EST. Tommy is HOOPSWORLD’s Fantasy Sports editor and also covers the Knicks and Nets for HOOPSWORLD. You can always the next chat here: Upcoming NBA Chats.
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