Chris Bosh’s final season as a Toronto Raptor “messed [him] up”? Well, he can take comfort in knowing he wasn’t alone.
Speaking to a Florida newspaper about the potential distraction of knowing the Miami Heat’s Big Three could all become free agents at the end of the 2013-14 season, the veteran power forward recalled his final season in Canada.
“You think about it but I’m mature enough to know that if I really start to think about it, I’m going to start playing bad,” Bosh told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “I’m looking forward to having a big year this year. That’s all I think about. In Toronto, it kind of messed me up. I was thinking, ‘What is going to happen [in the offseason]?’ I started struggling and then I snapped back into basketball.”
Despite the distraction—or maybe because he was attempting to make himself as desirable a commodity as possible—Bosh averaged career highs in points (24.0) rebounds (10.8) and field goal percentage (.518).
The Raptors, however, fell apart, winning just eight of their final 22 games to finish 40-42 and out of the playoffs. Bosh missed time during the final month with injuries, including a sprained ankle, before a broken nose cost him the season’s final five games.
So while Bosh’s numbers might have taken a hit since becoming the third option in Miami, it’s his former team that has never really recovered. The Raptors are 79-153 without Bosh, the franchise’s worst three-season record since 1996-1999.
