Good News For Raptors Fans: Bosh Likely To Play Remainder Of Pre-Season

Chris Bosh may be slated to start at power forward, but metaphorically speaking the young Texan is the absolute centre of the Toronto Raptors organization, which means word his sore knee is improving is the best news the team could hope for.

Bosh hasn’t played an NBA pre-season game since Oct. 7 in Rome , sidelined by that tweaked knee, but the 23-year-old took part in a full scrimmage Tuesday and should be ready for Thursday’s exhibition game against the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.

“Chris practiced again today, we let him go a little bit longer, and again, we’ll see how he feels tomorrow,” Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said after Tuesday’s practice. “This morning, he said he woke up and felt fine. If it feels good tomorrow we’ll let him go again tomorrow, and if he feels good the next day, I’ll play him in the game.”

Bosh worked out Monday as well, and reported none of the dreaded swelling that had Raptors Nation wondering if it would be without its star come the season opener on Oct. 31.

Bosh said his left knee was “stiff. . . kind of on the verge of being sore.”

“It’s just hard to get out of the blocks sometimes.”

This isn’t the first time Bosh has hobbled down this road. Last year he missed four of seven pre-season games with plantar fasciitis, a painful foot injury that stuck with him all season long. The short term result was a sluggish start for the Raptors, who went 2-8 in their first 10 games. That’s made Bosh and Mitchell very cautious heading into the upcoming season.

“The biggest thing with Chris that we stress is just tell us the truth. Don’t try to play through something at this stage of the season,” Mitchell said. “We’re on him about: just be honest with us.”

After Thursday’s tilt against Cleveland, Toronto has just one pre-season date remaining, coming Friday versus Washington at the Air Canada Centre. Bosh will try and get in both in order to be ready for the Philadelphia 76ers on Halloween, but he knows it’s a long season, much of which rests on the performance of his long legs.

“We have 82 games, I’m not really frantic or really pushing it,” Bosh said. “I know I’m going to play as long as I take care of my body, take care of the things I’m supposed to take care of, I’ll be on the court Thursday. That was my goal last week, I’m still working toward it and it’s looking realistic.”

(Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)