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TORONTO — Chris Bosh says it's time Toronto Raptors fans start pulling their weight.
Granted, the Raptors haven't given fans much to cheer about the past few weeks. But with four games to go in the regular season and Toronto looking to make up ground in the Eastern Conference in hopes of a more favourable post-season opponent, Bosh said the team needs all the help it can get.
And Toronto's sixth man definitely hasn't been on his game lately, says the Raptors captain.
"We have some of the best fans in the league, and you can't tell me they can't make noise, because in the playoffs it's ridiculous," Bosh said Thursday.
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Bosh has been increasingly vocal the past few weeks as his struggling team dropped 16-of-21 games and looked destined for a quick exit from the post-season.
The Raptors defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 111-93 on Wednesday to end a three-game losing streak, but Bosh criticized the crowd afterwards for being too quiet.
He acknowledged it's a risk calling out the crowd, but said "Me and Toronto, we've been through some things, we've been around the block a few times. The fans expect it out of me, so I expect it out of them too — it's only fair."
Bosh knows the Raptors are fortunate to play in a crowded arena every night — Wednesday's crowd that was just shy of capacity ended a streak of nine straight sellouts. But he's also noticed a drop in the noise level at the ACC this season.
"They matter," he said of the fans. "It gets the players pumped up, you run the floor harder, you defend harder, and it kind of rattles the other team because they don't want to take shots. . . they miss a shot, it gets louder, we make stops, it gets louder.
"It's just a big advantage, and it's a lot more fun. If you're loud and rowdy, everybody has fun, from the popcorn man to the starting five."
A rowdy crowd shouldn't be a concern Friday, when Toronto hosts Vince Carter — the player Raptors fans love to hate — and the New Jersey Nets (Rogers Sportsnet, 7 p.m. ET).
The Raptors (39-39) are one game behind Philadelphia for sixth spot in the East, which would pit them against Orlando in the first round of the playoffs rather than Detroit.
Coming off an Atlantic Division title last season, fighting to finish sixth isn't exactly where GM Bryan Colangelo had envisioned his team would be a year later.
"Last year happened, it's over, it's history, this is a new year, there are new circumstances, there's been new developments. . .," Colangelo said after practice Thursday. "Are we disappointed? Yes, that's the safest way to say it.
"But we're four games to go in preparation for a playoff, we can speculate all we want on what needs to be done, but right now I think we'd rather focus on what needs to be done to win — beginning (Friday) night."
Colangelo argued that if it wasn't for some significant injuries to key players — the Raptors went 2-8 when Bosh was out with a knee injury, while T.J. Ford missed 24 games with a neck injury — the regular season could have been a different story.
"When you talk about Chris's injury, we were playing some of our best basketball right before that happened," Colangelo said. "He gets hurt, then you're trying to incorporate T.J. back into the lineup. . . . Unfortunately there's been a lot of things that have been setting us back."
While there's precious little time to turn around the season that has taken a turn for the worse, Colangelo said "We have no choice but to make it enough time."
The Raptors wrap up the regular season with games Sunday at Detroit, Monday at home against the Miami Heat, and Wednesday at Chicago.
Notes: Both head coach Sam Mitchell and Ford missed Thursday's practice with a stomach virus.
