LOS ANGELES -- If, as Chris Bosh says, his free-agent decision in 2010 will be based on how he feels then, maybe he can just do us all a favor and keep an updated MySpace page. At 6:15 p.m. Monday evening the "current mood" would have read "cautiously optimistic."

"It's been tough," Bosh said of a team that is the league's biggest disappointment, with an 11-17 record even after beating the Clippers Monday night. "I'm not even going to lie to you. It's been tough. Keep in mind, there's a lot of basketball to play. You know how it is. You have one good run, everybody forgets about all the bad times and everything. I've just got to keep that in mind. I know that we're going to be successful later on."

It's a leap of faith on Bosh's part, given the first third of the season has been about losing, the firing of Sam Mitchell, then more losing as the team adjusts to new coach Jay Triano's faster-paced system. Maybe Bosh is optimistic because of the results he finds when he checks his own stat line and sees 23 points and 10 rebounds on the regular, the by-products of another stellar season.

Monday night, Bosh at his best was enough to end the Raptors' five-game losing streak, as he dropped 31 points on the undermanned Clippers. Bosh scored 16 points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, blowing by a defender for a dunk, spinning and using an up-and-under to draw an and-one, and popping out to hit a 3-pointer among other highlights as Toronto turned a nine-point lead into a 97-75 victory.

Against a Clippers lineup that was missing big men Marcus Camby (death in the family) and Chris Kaman (strained left arch), Triano sent Bosh out with Jake Voskuhl, Anthony Parker, Joey Graham and Will Solomon to start the fourth.

"We didn't have a lot of points on the floor," Triano said. "But I said, 'It doesn't matter -- we're giving the ball to Chris and they can't stop him.'"

It started with a driving layup, and from there, Bosh said, "Anytime you get confidence, you just want to keep going."

And those could be the words that determine if Bosh will have a long-term future in Toronto. He likes it there, the "or-gone-eye-zation" (as the Canadian-born Triano pronounces it) does its best to accommodate him, and the Raptors can clear cap space to bring in a sidekick from the talent-rich free-agent class of 2010 if Bosh decides to stay. The Raptors will have the home-court advantage to guarantee him more money than any other team, but Bosh said feelings will outweigh finances.

"I think happiness is key," Bosh said. "Being comfortable. That has a lot to do with happiness."

In the meantime, I would suggest that Raptors fans just chill. Don't freak out about the slow start to the season and its potential impact on Bosh's decision down the road. Don't press Bosh to do something, anything to make it. He gets it.

"As much as the media or fans think it affects them, we're the ones trying," Bosh said. "They have to keep that in mind. It hurts to try your hardest and still come up short sometimes. People have to keep that in mind. Some people ask me, 'Does it hurt you as much as it hurts me to lose?' It's like, 'Yeah, I'm out there playing. What do you think?' I give my effort. I give 100 percent."

He's also doing his best to give this personality-driven league a star in Toronto. It started with his car-dealer pitch for an All-Star spot last season and now includes his karate-style challenge to Baron Davis on Davis' Ibeatyou.com.

"That was kind of my chance to just put something out there that people wouldn't expect," Bosh said. "It's worked out pretty well. I think people still don't really get the whole feeling of who I am. That's cool. I just wanted to show that I can have fun."

So maybe that's the key: whether or not he has fun. Bosh isn't your conventional big man, nor is he your typical NBA player. As the Raptors prepared for a brief Christmas break before reconvening in Sacramento at the end of the week, Bosh walked down a Staples Center hallway, his brother by his side. Current mood: playful.

J.A. Adande joined ESPN.com as an NBA columnist in August 2007 after 10 years with the Los Angeles Times. Click here to e-mail J.A.

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