Raptors shit the bed in Boston

You've surely noticed that this is not the RaptorBlog you know. The site is down, the phone number at the hosting company isn't working, so I have no clue what's happening. No matter. I'll work this out one way or another.

I had a post about last night's Raptors loss to the Celtics but now that I've slept on it, here are some thoughts...

• I feel a little foolish asserting that Chris Bosh is a Top 10 player after his disappearing act last night. Nine points, seven rebounds and one assist in 40 minutes from your best player is not going to cut it against the defending champs. Obviously, K.G. is a very tough match-up for Bosh (or anyone, for that matter) but Chris needs to find a new level of intensity for games like this.
• A lot of you are pissed off that Sam Mitchell left Jason Kapono in to guard Paul Pierce in the fourth quarter. You might have a point, but who's to say that Moon could have stopped him either? If you can't play Kapono against offensively skilled small forwards, then what good is he? If nothing else, this should quiet the people who think Kapono should start or get more playing time.
• As for all of you who are outraged about KG "taunting" Jose Calderon, I have this to say: Grow a pair. Should he have got a technical foul for his pointing and clapping? Yeah, probably. But if KG wants to act a fool, Calderon responded in the only way that matters -- he dropped a dime and then got right back in his face.

The end result was disappointing (you never like to see your team blow a 15-point lead in the third quarter against any team) but hardly surprising. If we're going to face facts, the Raptors' three losses have all come against teams that may very well be better than them. Boston and Detroit are certainly better -- and after the beating Atlanta put on the Raptors last Friday (and since the Hawks are 5-0), they might be a better team, as well.

All of this means that the likelihood of the Raptors ending up with that all-important home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs is looking pretty grim right now. And if I can predict one thing with any confidence about this team, it's that if the Raptors don't make it to the second round of the playoffs this season, Sam Mitchell is done in Toronto.

(Note: You should be able to post in the comments, but I'll be screening them just as usual.)