Waiting on the Pacers vs. Raptors

The Pacers welcome the Toronto Raptors who arrive in Indy after beating Boston Friday night in Toronto. The Raptors come to town has one of the hottest teams in the league having won five of their last six games to reach .500 and surge ahead in the not so stellar Atlantic Division. Since returning from injury Chris Bosh has played at a high level and was voted as a starting forward for the East in the All-Star Game. Bruno's preview discusses the fact that Bosh beat out Jermaine O'Neal who many (me, me, me!) think deserved the start if based strictly on merit. JO isn't quite as upset as I am:

"He's a young, upcoming guy; he's the future of our league," O'Neal said. "I take my hat off to Chris. I'm proud of him. I know him and his family very well. I have no problem coming off the bench behind Chris Bosh."

The Indy Star has a similar article with more Bosh/JO mutual adoration. Bosh's take on his All-Star selection over JO:

"With all respect to Jermaine, he's a good player, he's been in this league 10-plus years and he's really proved himself to be a bonafide All-Star and a superstar in this league and for fans to notice me, it's kind of mixed emotions," Bosh told Toronto reporters. "I kind of ask why, but at the same time, I appreciate it."

• Despite the kind words from JO and Bosh, I'm sure they'll be amped up to take on each other Saturday night. Both players really went at each other in the first meeting. Unfortunately, they were a little too focused on the one on one battle and ended up playing out of sync, missing shots and turning the ball over. Hopefully we'll see the same effort with a higher level of play this time around.
• The Raptors ran the Pacers out of the gym in their first meeting at Toronto. That game is a distant memory since the Pacers have a drastically different team now.
• Freddie Jones returns to the Fieldhouse. Much like Austin Croshere, Freddie should get a warm welcome. Unfortunately, also like Cro, Freddie may not see the floor much. He's really fallen out of the rotation as several young Raptors have begun to flourish ahead of him.
• Cornrows is heading down to the Bloomington, IN area this afternoon for the night so post game reaction will be delayed until Sunday.