The “we are the tonic to what ails you” edition:
Barbosa: Leandro took the fact that tonight was fan appreciation night to heart and even executed a lob pass to a fan in the 7th row during the homestretch of the game. Kind of him.
Bayless: good to see him back, but it was fleeting. 5 minutes of play which was more a test of his wheel than anything else. Still surprised he wasn’t pushed a little bit more with the break coming up and how we were getting abused by the Bobcats guards.
Butler: if I went deer hunting with Rasual and we happened upon a gathering of deer that were stuck in ice and were an easy kill, I would calmly lift my rifle, adjust my sights, give a little smile, and pull the trigger. Then the deer would laugh, I would free said deer, and I’d come home alone.
Calderon: Augustin and Walker abused Jose like an 8 year old abuses a pinata. It was like Basketball Bukkake. You knew we were in for a long night when we saw the return of the clap defence in the first few minutes of the game. Hey, you have to expect drop off after the last few games he has given us, but this was bad.
Carter: he put in as much work today as I do at my girls “lets bond by having some ‘us’ time at hot yoga” idea
Davis: Eddie played hard tonight falling just a point shy of a double double. It earned him some extended minutes and probably a little less time in front of the video screen tomorrow than he is used to.
DeRozan: best way to describe his game tonight would be by saying it was like you getting a call from the Jerry Springer show and finding out on national TV that your girl is really a guy. On the offensive end, DeMar was dead sexy. He got to the line, he hammered into the paint, had a poster worthy dunk. Defensively, well it was like you weren’t the only one with the ability to unzip, pull out and pee in the relationship. Reggie Williams was able to meet him punch for punch since Bambi felt like he might break a nail playing defence.
Forbes: wonder if the geeks are ready to give up on Gary’s “untapped potential” yet? When he enters the game he brings as much game changing potential as dust.
Gray: 6 and 7 in 13 minutes shows he had some motivation playing against some old friends. Still in dire need of a spark to pick his game up a bit. Love to see him be more physical and become a wall on the screen.
A. Johnson: pounded the board hard with 15 rebounds, but that was offset with a poor shooting night as Amir went 3 of 9. Still he was one of the few Raptors to show some desire on the floor tonight on both ends.
J. Johnson: and James was another one. Precisely the type of game we need from him: quiet yet full of production. No silly moves followed by looking incredulously at the refs, no fake pumping yourself up, no acting like your dog just died. James came out, did his job, kept the Raptors close. Perfect.
Driving the bus: DeMar DeRozan
Under the bus: Aaron Gray
Theme of the Game:
