Before the allstar weekend, the Raptors were rolling. After that, they’ve gone cold ever since. On Sunday they lost to the Trailblazers for the second time in the same week. That’s following a loss to the lotto-bound Warriors on Saturday. This has gotten to the point where the locker room is being affected, evident from Chris Bosh’s words post game statements:
“Just do it,” Bosh said in a quiet Raptors locker room about starting to take their playoff run seriously.

“Act like you care. We need to do the things that win. We don’t do the things that win. I’m going down and playing offense on their side of the court and their (bench) is louder than we are. That doesn’t make any sense. They’re not playing for anything. We’re trying to make the playoffs. We’re trying to get the fifth seed but that is, like, slipping away every day.”

Bosh continued.

“We’re supposed to be gearing up for playoff basketball and this is not playoff basketball,” he said. “Their bench is more active than ours is. Their players are getting more stops. They’re getting more offensive rebounds. Everybody is doing everything. If you look on the schedule now and see Toronto, I’m sure people are checking the win box. I can understand if we lose a game going down fighting, but we’re not fighting at all.”

Read more: http://realgm.net/src_wiretap_archives/65350/20100314/bosh_erupts_after_loss/#ixzz0iJWv2o34

No one knows what happened, but this team is not the same as it was a month ago. Before the all star weekend, the Raptors were on a hot winning streak. Now, they are just barely .500 with the same questions and concerns popping up as before. Does head coach Jay Triano know what he’s doing? Does Antoine Wright know his role? Can Bargnani do anything besides shoot jumpshots?
Word is, Triano is considering shuffling the lineup, rumour being Antoine Wright and Jose Calderon replacing DeRozan and Jack. That sort of change is not really an upgrade as opposed to a change for the sake of changing, thus could even backfire. Whatever it is though, Triano needs to do something. Not necessarily a lineup shuffle, but perhaps installing a different attitude in the locker room. Fix the team chemistry, however it’s done.

Last time they played, the Raptors won on a couple of last second free throws by Hedo Turkoglu. This time however, the result was different. After a clutch and unexpected trey from CB4 to tie the game, Kobe Bryant put on his assassin’s gloves and delivered his 6th game winner of the season, with a leaner fading away from a double team.

Such a loss is disheartening, and the Raptors’ defense is sure to be the target of more critical examination. However, this loss may actually be more friendly than imagined. On the surface, it’s another loss. But if you look closely, you’ll see that it’s a two point loss to the best team in the West. Made possible by the most clutch player in the NBA, Kobe Bryant. It does not matter how good the defense is, Kobe Bryant is Kobe Bryant. This “loss” surely must be a confidence booster to some of the Raptors players, as no one would have considered that they could even pull off a close game against such a good team.