31-year old small forward Hedo Turkoglu wants traded. He needs to quit being a little bitch and play. He got busted at a bar drinking instead of playing while he was “sick” as the Raptors for fighting for the playoffs. Turkoglu has even reached out to the Kings as he would accept a trade there if they would want him. Turkoglu was a huge bust for the Raptors in his first year in Toronto as he played in 74 games (69 starts) in which he averaged 30.7 minutes, 11.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists on 40.9% shooting from the floor. Turkoglu has now played in 752 games (443 starts) in his 10 years in the NBA and he has averaged 28.2 minutes, 12.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game. With Chris Bosh likely leaving town Turkoglu has a chance to step up and redeem himself in 2010-11 by staying with the Raptors and playing well but he’s looking for the easy way out.

If the Toronto Raptors want to be in this year’s NBA playoffs, then they have to win tonight’s game against the New York Knicks.  The Raptors are one game back of the eighth seeded Chicago Bulls, but the Raptors own the tiebreaker.  So, if the Bulls lose and the Raptors win, then the Raptors will win the final playoff spot.  However, if the Bulls win it doesn’t matter whether or not the Raptors win or lose, as the Bulls will be a game ahead.  Judging by the way the Bulls played last night in their win over the Boston Celtics, things don’t look good for the Raptors.  The Bobcats do have a better record than the Bulls and they are the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, so it is anyone’s game.  If the Bulls do win, it looks like the Raptors’ loss to the Bulls last Sunday cost them the playoffs.  That and losing their best player, Chris Bosh, at the most important part of the season.  The Raptors have to forget about those things though and make sure they get a win tonight.  Guys like Andrea Bargnani, Sonny Weems, Amir Johnson, and Jarret Jack have had some nice games with Bosh out, but they will all need to step up tonight against the Knicks.  It is win or go home for the Raptors, and it will be interesting to see how they respond tonight.

This is the time Hedo Turkoglu tends to shine so the Raptors need to give him his starting job back. He has been in the Dog House since missing a game because of the “flu”. The flu didn’t stop him from partying at a local bar during a game the Raptors were losing. In his last five games, Turkoglu is averaging 26.4 minutes, 8.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. His overall numbers are down this season as he has played in 71 games (66 starts) in which he has averaged 31.0 minutes, 11.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. With the Raptors now a desperate team they should forgive Turkoglu of his past sins and let him start playing 35 minutes a night so he can atone for his mistake.

The Raptors and Bulls are tied for the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference Playoffs heading into tomorrow’s clash in Toronto. The Raptors hold the tiebreaker with the Bulls so they can take a huge step towards making the playoffs if they can beat them tomorrow. The big key will be how power forward Amir Johnson and center Andrea Bargnani handle the paint as the Raptors can’t afford to lose the battle down low against the Bulls who have more size than them. The Raptors need to keep the pace hot as the Bulls don’t want to try to run and gun with them. The bad news for the Raptors is that the Bulls play the Celtics (49-30) and Bobcats (42-37) next week and they might be resting players for the playoffs. The Raptors have to play the Pistons (26-53) and the Knicks (28-51) who are only playing for pride but will use their regular players. It will be interesting to see which team wants it more tomorrow as whoever prevails will have a leg up for the last spot in the playoffs.

With Chris Bosh out of action for a while the Raptors need Amir Johnson & Reggie Evans to step up if they want to make the playoffs. Johnson will probably take over as the starting power forward with Bosh out. He has played in 77 games (1 start) for the Raptors this season and he is averaging 16.9 minutes, 5.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Johnson has a huge upside so don’t be surprised if he can put up good numbers with the extended minutes he will be getting. Reggie Evans has played in 24 games (0 starts) this season and he is averaging 11.1 minutes, 3.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Evans is a good rebounder and defender so he should also do a decent job. It will be interesting to see how well Johnson and Evans handle the pressure as the Raptors are only 1 game ahead of the Bulls for the #8 slot in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.