Raps coach Sam Mitchell says Chris Bosh is tired. Jalen Rose plays just 21 minutes and scores a whopping three points.
Vince Carter is placed on the injured list and Milt Palacio is excused for personal reasons.
For a change of pace, injured list veteran Pape Sow scores a career-high nine points.
Obviously, when Sow's scoring spree is the best news of the night, the Raptors are in big trouble.
Missing Carter (strained left Achilles tendon) for the first of at least five games, Toronto looked awful and lost 101-87 to the Denver Nuggets before 17,191 last night at the Air Canada Centre.
"To lose like that on your home floor is absolutely embarrassing," said Rose, whose team lost its sixth in a row.
"There were no positives that I saw."
The Raptors trailed by as many as 30 points in the third quarter as they returned home following a 1-5 road swing.
Mitchell, without prompting from reporters, said Bosh looks fatigued. Bosh, 3-of-8 for the field with six points, missed a few easy shots and wasn't even close to a dominant force. The slender second-year forward often is asked to cover the biggest man on the floor, which isn't an ideal scenario, but the Raptors have no other option.
"You watch Chris play and he's giving everything he has, but it's obvious he is fatigued," Mitchell said. "We'll try to get him some rest, but we've got another game (tomorrow afternoon against Shaquille O'Neal and the Miami Heat). He's trying and I love him to death, but I think these (two six-game) trips have took so much out of him."
Bosh said he's not exhausted.
But he is frustrated.
"I have no idea (what's wrong)," Bosh said. "That's what's so troubling."
Rose also isn't having fun.
When asked if he wants to play more, he said, "That's not my call. Every player wants to win and every player wants to do his best ... I don't enjoy failure. I don't enjoy not having the opportunity to give my all. That's probably the most frustrating thing for an athlete."
The Nuggets, missing starting centre Marcus Camby (tailbone contusion) and forward Rodney White (suspension), have won 10 of their past 12. Backup centre Nene was 9-of-10 for 21 points and Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 28 points.
