Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were teammates on the USA's 2008 gold-medal Olympic team, and both are represented by Chicago-based agent Henry Thomas. But Bosh said the connections with Wade should not be overstated when it comes to potentially being teammates.

"I know Dwyane a little bit, not a lot," Bosh said. "We haven't spent that much time outside of USA Basketball. People always are going to look for some kind of connection. That's understandable. People are going to try to make things up. There is always going to be speculation. So I'll let everybody write their stories and keep going about my business."

Raptors forward Hedo Turkoglu didn't log a single minute against the Heat on Sunday night even though he claims he's fine physically.

Toronto lost 97-94, hurting their postseason chances.

"I'm good, I'm good," was all Turkoglu said after the game.

The Raptors have lost three straight and hold just a half-game lead over the Bulls for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.

Toronto coach Jay Triano said it was his decision to play the entire game without Turkoglu.

"He was active, it was a coach's decision not to play him," said Triano.

The coach revealed when pressed that he was looking to send a message.

Sources familiar with Donnie Walsh's thinking say the Knicks' president would hesitate to sign Chris Bosh to a maximum-salary contract, preferring to retain David Lee under a smaller deal.

Joe Johnson is presumed to be the Knicks' back-up plan if LeBron James stays in Cleveland.  But Kobe Bryant may still choose to jump in this summer's free-agent pool and some believe New York is the only destination Bryant would move to if he leaves Los Angeles.

"Don?t rule him out if LeBron says no to New York," one NBA GM said.

The Raptors are falling out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference and general manager Bryan Colangelo believes that it has something to do with agendas.

"I've got a lot of suspicions, I guess, of what's gone wrong. It hasn't been the same since the all-star break," Colangelo said. "Too many guys came back from the break with a different approach. And that's the part that's troubling. ... It's not a talent issue. And it's clear that the right message is being delivered (by the coaching staff). But the students have to carry out the agenda. And it's got to be a team agenda. It can't be an individual agenda."

Toronto had a winning percentage of .558 (on pace for 46 wins) at the All-Star break, but they've gone just 6-12 since.

The Jazz routed the Raptors on Wednesday night, their latest lopsided defeat.

"It's a hard thing to explain. (Wednesday) night, it felt like there was no effort. It felt like there was no sense of urgency. It felt like there was no emotion," Colangelo said. "It's almost like there's a shutoff valve. And it's hard to explain, but it's almost like the entire team had that valve in the off position.

"But we've proven we can turn it on as easily as we've turned it off. It's just got to happen fast."

Toronto heads into Friday's action with a mark of 35-35, good for the eighth spot in the East. Chicago, who is also struggling, is 2 1/2 games back.

Chris Bosh stood at his locker, lamenting the lack of fight in the Raptors after the 113-87 loss to the Jazz.

?We didn?t come to play,? said Bosh. ?Yeah, they?re good, but we have to take the mentality of ?who cares, we?re still going to win this game? and I don?t think we have that fire right now.?

Bosh believes all of his teammates must look to themselves for answers.

?I can?t instill it in guys,? Bosh said. ?You have to have it on your own; as much as I would like to, as much as I would like to do everything, you can?t do everything.

?Personally, you have to bring something to the plate. Whatever gets guys going, we need to find it.?

Chris Bosh scored 36 points on Saturday, helping the Raptors pick up a much needed win over the Nets.

"We're to the point where we have to win every game," said Bosh, who also had eight rebounds. "Give credit to everybody. We won a game we were supposed to win."

"Sometimes we play down to our competition," added Raptors forward Reggie Evans. "But this was a good win for us not to play at the level of our competition."

Bosh scored 15 of his points in the third quarter.

"That's why you hear the talk about him and LeBron James and Dwyane Wade," Evans said.

"I just had opportunities," Bosh added. "That's how I play basketball. Sometimes if I feel I can provide a spark for my team I come out and try to do that."

Hedo Turkoglu and Jay Triano both feel the Raptors have a more talented team than they have shown of late.

?We should be in the top four or five. Absolutely,? said Turkoglu before the Raptors? latest implosion, 115-89 to Oklahoma City.

?We didn?t respond. We didn?t resist them at all. Then you probably get beat by a lot,? said Chris Bosh about Friday's loss. ?We let guys walk into the post. We let guys go by us ... it comes down to desire.?

The Raps did have a nice run, going 25-15 before it all started to unravel.

?Everyone was healthy, (Chris Bosh) was playing very good,? Triano said.

?Then, after the all-star break, first game he gets hurt. Other guys try to do more than they?re capable, Calderon misses a few games, Turkoglu is not 100%.?

DeMar DeRozan has improved his defensive play over the course of his rookie season.

"He was more of a scorer coming in; defense is not glorified at all," Antoine Wright said of DeRozan. "I think what he's understanding is that he sets the tone of the game and you let a guy like (Oklahoma City's) Kevin Durant make his first five shots, it's going to be difficult for me and Sonny to come there and put that fire out."

"He's earned the opportunity to play in late-game situations because he's gotten much better defensively," Jay Triano said of DeRozan.

"He's had a tough guy to guard pretty well every single night and we've been very pleased with what he's done."

Not only did Chris Bosh hit a game-winning shot against the Hawks on Wednesday night, but he also reached a career milestone.

Bosh became the first player in franchise history to score 10,000 points.

Bryan Colangelo is baffled by Toronto's recent slide.

"It's perplexing," said Colangelo. "There's no doubt that we've regressed back to the level we started the season with."

The Raptors suffered road losses to the Sixers, Lakers, Kings, Warriors and Blazers.

"There seems to be a lot of individualism right now," Colangelo said. "It just isn't the same team, moving the ball and sharing the ball the way we were. This is not a talent issue. It's mental."

Said Chris Bosh: "Frustration and crying and pouting and all that stuff is not going to get it done."