Having Chris Bosh out of action hasn’t been beneficial to Andrea Bargnani’s scoring output as he has shot a woeful 31-74 (41.9%) from the field over his last five games. Hardly the kind of shooting you want from the post player you’re looking to step in and replace Bosh’s 24.5 points per game.

However, it’s not for a lack of trying. Bargnani has led Toronto in field goal attempts in three of those games so his dip in productivity appears to be a simple case of the big man not being able to hit his shots.

Despite what stat geeks might try to persuade you there’s a reason why basketball isn’t analyzed strictly on numbers or stats.

According to Jay Triano, Bargnani’s recent shooting slump is largely attributed to the kinds of different looks opposing defenses have been throwing at him.

“He’s the focal point of other teams defenses now so he’s facing traps which he hasn’t faced before,” Triano explained to the media after a win against New York. “We got him to get it out of the trap a couple of times so he didn’t have to make a play and that’s when we started swinging the ball. We were then able to do what they do which is attack with penetration after the ball is swung.”

Sounds logical, right? The problem once again is staring at a stat sheet won’t back this up. Even though Bargnani was kicking the ball out of the paint and doing a great job of initiating Toronto’s offense, basketball doesn’t count the “hockey” assist so when he started the teams offense by swinging the ball around the perimeter to find an open teammate he didn’t get credit for.

Instead, all that shows up on the stat sheet is the atrocious 4-15 he went from the field.

But even that stat lies. Watching him play during this stretch he hasn’t jacked up a lot of ill-conceived shots. Instead, the majority of his shots looked good when he released them and he’s attempted most of his field goal attempts within the flow of Toronto’s offense.

The problem that is likely throwing off his rhythm and timing is the fact he has needed to adjust to seeing double-teams for the first time in his NBA career while Bosh has been out of action.

Despite being in his fourth year he’s had a tough time making the adjustment to reading what the defense is giving him.

“I think I did some good stuff and some very bad stuff when I was double-teamed,” Bargnani admitted to the media Friday after a win against New York. “Sometimes I lost the ball and other times I had a real good pass to find an open teammate.

“I’ve still got to get much better because I’m not used to seeing a double-team. CB (Chris Bosh) is the guy that normally gets double-teamed.”

Which is all part of the learning curve for Bargnani. Being thrust into a prominent role within Toronto’s offense is sure to be challenging as he and the team both try to find ways to win games without Bosh.

Luckily for Bargnani this trial by fire looks to be over once Bosh returns on Sunday.

Photo Credit: Nathan Gilbert