Hardwood Paroxysm » Blog Archive » Is There Not A Penalty For Stealing Another Player’s Manhood And Stomping On It?

In the end, this is the problem with the Bosh-Andrea Bargnani tandem: there is little muscle there, and the top teams in the East all have a lot of muscle. Boston is a perfect example. To beat them, the Raptors have to shoot the lights out and pray the Celtics have trouble hitting their own attempts. That’s not a winning formula, in November or in April. That’s why Reggie Evans had been seen as so important to this team — he’s a burly beast unafraid to mix it up on the floor, on the boards and on defense. But Evans hasn’t played a second this season owing to injury, and Bosh (as amazing a player he is) and Bargnani (a fantastic shooter) just have no answer for the Pierces, the Dwights, the LeBrons, the Horfords.

Bosh seems to understand this, later telling Feschuk he’s tired of talking about toughness. He seems to realize that this team will never be tough, not with this line-up. I hate to transmute a bit of November frustration into a prediction for the future, but there is a bit of resignation in Bosh’s reaction, and I’m sure you can completely discount that when looking at July 1.

via Bosh Gets Pounded, Wonders Why His Teammates Don’t Care — NBA FanHouse.

So which one’s it on? Bosh or Bargnani? It’s obviously Bargnani. Of all centers playing at least 25 minutes per game, Bargnani is the second lowest in total rebounding ratio. Mehmet Okur is blasting him. In steals, blocks, and charges? Bargnani is last.

I love the big guy. I do. Bargnani’s size and touch is incredible. But you cannot put him next to Bosh. It just doesn’t work. No one criticizes Carlos Boozer as much as I do, but the guy gets glass, so that Mehmet Okur can hang out on the perimeter as much as he wants. You have to have skill guys. You can talk about toughness all you want, but if you don’t have guys who are skilled at basketball, you’ll fail just the same. You have to achieve a balance.

That said, Bargnani and Bosh simply isn’t a capable frontcourt tandem. You’ve got both guys that need to be focused on offense. You need one premier block offensive guy and one clean-up banger. Neither of those guys is it.

Oh, and Paul Pierce is the MF Truth.