Power Rankings: Slumping Raptors? Chris Bosh'll make 'em jump, jump

Updated March 18

So Gilbert Arenas received good news, courtesy of an MRI on his surgically repaired knee: He can increase the intensity of his workouts. Which tells us nothing about when he'll actually play for the first time since Nov. 16. And it certainly doesn't tell us how effective he'll be for the Wizards.

Perhaps lost in the buzz about the latest Arenas update is this: Chris Bosh expects to be in the Toronto lineup Wednesday. And it's a safe bet that Bosh will be highly effective within a couple of games.

Chris Bosh is 11th in the NBA at 22.6 ppg. (Getty Images)

And the All-Star power forward's return won't just help the Raptors. It will affect the conference playoff race.

Bosh missed the past 10 games with a sore right knee and the Raptors went 2-8 during that span, capped by a winless five-game Western swing. Even with Bosh, that trip could've been a sub-.500 experience, but somehow I don't envision Toronto getting swept with one 32-point loss and another by 20.

Bosh averages 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds. He's shooting 50 percent from the floor and 86 percent from the line. Among East power forwards, only Kevin Garnett could be considered as good or better than Bosh.

So we know how good Bosh is. But how much does Toronto rely on him? This much: Before Bosh's injury, the Raptors were seven games over .500 and a playoff lock. Now? The Raptors, fifth in the East, are just 34-33 and a half-game up on Washington through Monday. Red-hot Philadelphia is one back. Another few games behind is the sub-.500 group -- Atlanta, New Jersey, Chicago and Indiana -- scrambling for the eighth and final postseason spot.

The top three seeds in the East playoffs will be Boston, Detroit and Orlando, but nothing's certain from Nos. 4-8. Cleveland is currently fourth, 3½ games up on Toronto in the race for home-court advantage in the first round, but a healthy Bosh could help close that gap, starting Friday when the Raptors visit the Cavs.

Bosh's presence means fewer losses for Toronto, which damages Washington's and Philadelphia's dreams of rising higher than No. 6 in the East. Of course, that might not be terrible for the Raptors, playing Orlando instead of LeBron James in the opening round. But that's a different discussion.

Which brings us to the Hawks, Nets and Bulls. Considering Toronto's lack of success this month, a game vs. the Bosh-less Raptors could be considered a gimme. And that would've been a welcome development for Atlanta on April 2, New Jersey on April 5 and 11, and Chicago on April 16 in the regular-season finale.

Instead, when those teams play the Raptors on those crucial dates down the stretch, Toronto has to be considered the favorite, making it all the more difficult for playoff wannabes to slip into the postseason.

This week's Power Rankings:

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Celtics · Trends	1
	Biggest win of opening week: Re-upping with Rajon Rondo for five more seasons. ... Opening victory at Cleveland demonstrated that Rasheed Wallace was a better pickup than Shaq.
	2	Magic · Trends	2
	Unhappy homecoming: Vince Carter sprained ankle in win at New Jersey. ... Who needs Carter and suspended Rashard Lewis? Dwight Howard goes back-to-back-to-back with double-doubles.
	3	Lakers · Trends	3
	Most impressive part of win over Atlanta: When Kobe Bryant couldn't stop Hawks' Joe Johnson, Ron Artest took over and could. ... Why no drop in rankings? We haven't seen Pau Gasol yet.
	4	Nuggets · Trends	7
	Defending division champs send early reminder to Northwest rivals Utah, Portland. ... This is hilarious: Nene Hilario averaged 5.7 fouls in first three games.
	5	Spurs · Trends	5
	First back-to-back -- win over Hornets, loss to Bulls -- not encouraging for NBA's old-timers. ... After Manu Ginobili corralled bat, would you want to defend him?
	6	Cavaliers · Trends	4
	Most discouraging aspect of 0-2 start: There's already talk of who the Cavs must acquire at trade deadline. ... Shaq not making any Cleveland fans forget Brad Daugherty.
	7	Hawks · Trends	9
	Hawks (84.3 percent) are scorching opponents from free-throw line. ... Josh Smith (23) NBA's youngest ever to block 900 shots.
	8	Heat · Trends	14
	Only Celtics (19.3) had greater average margin of victory than Heat (14.3) in first week. ... Here's another win: Hard-nosed Tim Hardaway gets No. 10 jersey retired.
	9	Mavericks · Trends	11
	First-week wins at Staples Center: Lakers two, Mavericks two, Clippers one. ... Best offseason acquisition? Shawn Marion (16.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks) right up there.
	10	Trail Blazers · Trends	6
	Brandon Roy scored 20 in home win over Rockets, 42 in rematch loss at Houston. ... Talk about filling up the box score: Greg Oden posted 11 blocks and 19 fouls in the first four games.
	11	Rockets · Trends	19
	No Tracy McGrady, so Trevor Ariza (21.2 points, 48 percent shooting) is getting the green light and making opponents pay. ... When did Houston acquire Chris Paul and why does his jersey say "Brooks"?
	12	Suns · Trends	17
	Easy to see why the Suns wanted Steve Nash back: 20 assists vs. Golden State ... Thank you, Mr. Nash: Pick-and-pop center Frye hits 13 of first 20 from 3-point range.
	13	76ers · Trends	13
	No early surprises: Loss at Orlando, wins over lowly Bucks, Knicks. ... Don't call me Louis: Williams averaging 20.3 points, five-plus rebounds, assists.
	14	Wizards · Trends	21
	Message of season-opening win at Dallas: Gilbert Arenas is back. ... Vastly improved Andray Blatche hits 28 of first 39 off bench.
	15	Bulls · Trends	15
	Why 1-2 is acceptable: Rugged slate tipped off with Spurs, Celtics, Heat. ... Round 1 of Derrick Rose vs. Tony Parker goes to the second-year standout.
	16	Jazz · Trends	10
	Jazz look old, slow in blowout home loss to Rockets ... Carlos Boozer is earning his big bucks: three games, three double-figure rebound efforts.
	17	Hornets · Trends	8
	My, how the mighty have fallen: Only win is over the Kings; already a loss to Knicks. ... Frustrated Chris Paul exchanged words with Rondo after defeat at Boston.
	18	Raptors · Trends	24
	Why Chris Bosh remains a Raptor: three games, three double-doubles. ... Roller-coaster ride has begun: Loss to Grizzlies follows shockingly easy win over Cavaliers.
	19	Thunder · Trends	23
	Who says offense sells? Defensive specialist Thabo Sefolosha gets a generous extension. ... Not a list you want to lead: Kevin Durant tops in league in missed shots (43) through three games.
	20	Bobcats · Trends	26
	Just keep shooting: Gerald Wallace opens season 11 for 40, then scores 24 in win over Nets. ... Good news: Raja Bell puts off surgery. Bad news: He debuts 1-for-8.
	21	Pistons · Trends	12
	Duplication can be good thing: With Richard Hamilton (ankle) out, Ben Gordon pours in 25, 26. ... Home loss to Thunder was no surprise: Detroit dropped one to Western doormat last year, too.
	22	Pacers · Trends	22
	Mr. Double-Double doing it again: Troy Murphy goes 14-10, then 12-13. ... League's Worst Player of First Week candidate: Dahntay Jones shoots 33.3 percent, has 9-2 turnover/assist ratio.
	23	Warriors · Trends	18
	Stephen Jackson update: No tirades, no quality starts in club's 0-2 opening. ... First two opponents (Rockets, Suns) drop in 24 of 48 from 3-point range.
	24	Clippers · Trends	16
	Balloon gets popped early: Club loses rookie star Blake Griffin to fractured kneecap. ... Only the Clippers: Despite triumph over Timberwolves, they still trail winless club (Warriors) in rankings.
	25	Grizzlies · Trends	29
	One game into Grizzlies career, Allen Iverson already making waves. ... It may be time to start asking: Who got better of Gasol-for-Gasol trade with Lakers?
	26	Knicks · Trends	27
	Remarkable feat: Danilo Gallinari averaging 10.5 3-point attempts per game. Equally remarkable: He has made 45.2 percent of them.
	27	Timberwolves · Trends	25
	Who needs Ricky Rubio? Rookie Jonny Flynn second on Timberwolves with 14.8 scoring average. ... Who needs Rubio? Timberwolves do. No player averaging more than 3.2 assists.
	28	Bucks · Trends	30
	Reserve lottery seat for Bucks: Michael Redd's knee already acting up. ... Paving path across Atlantic: Seasoned Brandon Jennings (20.5 points, 6.0 assists) was top rookie of Week 1.
	29	Kings · Trends	28
	First coaching win is classic Paul Westphal: 127-116 over Grizzlies. ... Don't count Kevin Martin (31.0) out of league scoring race.
	30	Nets · Trends	20
	It can't get worse: No field goals over 11½-minute stretch in loss to Bobcats. ... Why is Courtney Lee (33.3 percent shooting, 2.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists) playing 40.3 minutes a game?