Alabi: how tired must he be right about now?  40 minutes of burn, 19 rebounds and shooting 30% from the field. At least his free throw form looked good. Talk about whetting our appetite, though. Up and down the floor quickly, jumping out of the gym, 3 blocks. He’d be a MVP in the Canadian Basketball Universe.

Anderson: a fun game for him in what was his last dress rehearsal before coming back as a NBA’er next season. Can’t see him not being picked up for back up duty on a mediocre squad. 20 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists.

Davis: the only dude to play in every game this season as a Raptor and he went out with a bang. 43 minutes, 10 of 15 (!), 12 rebounds 24 points. Sure this came against a team that I could beat on my XBox with no batteries in my controller, but we Raptor fans will take any glimmer on this guy.

Forbes: evidently Gary hates the colour orange with black pinstripes because every time he got the ball in his hand, he was tossing it up. 21 FG attempts, 9 of them from deep, for 23 points. It seemed like he wanted to treat the fans to pizza all on his own.

J. Johnson: thank heavens this is the last I’ll see of this egotistical bum for a month or two. Surely he’ll be in the summer league, for punishment if nothing else. 4 turnovers in 19 minutes against a team manned by the Lollipop Guild looks good on him.

Magloire: classy move to have him start in what could be his last NBA game as a player. Didn’t do much in 5 minutes, but still nice to see a Canadian represent on home soil for one last time. Still think Coach should have done the intro, but whatever.

Uzoh: Alvin Williams finally has a table guest. 11 years ago Alvin had a triple double, and now Ben Uzoh has done something that will never be taken away from him. 12 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds….and all with 2 minutes of breathing time on the bench.  Again, obviously an asterisk beside it given the lack of competition (felt would have proved a better defender) but still something to tell the Uzoh grandkids about.

Driving the bus: Ben Uzoh

Under the bus: James Johnson

Theme of the Game:

Alabi: after tearing down boards like they were paper last night, Red Solo Cup barely saw any action….and not in the RapsFan type of way.

Anderson: still racking up 40+ minutes but tonight his game was more disjointed than a six year old trying to talk sensibly after downing 2 Rockstars.

Davis: a nice game derailed by foul trouble. 11 boards is nothing to sneeze at against a Bucks team, but since they only shot 37%, you have to think there were some golden opportunities lost by the 76th team All Star.

DeRozan: throwing a ball into the stands is unnecessary, unless it’s at the ACC and it’s heaved at the SuperFan (who really is just a car dealer looking to gain free advertising). DeMar messed up and did it on the road tonight, but it bought him an early exit and a way to beat the lines at the bratwurst stand.

Forbes: 15 points and 5 assists in a game that seemed to challenge his interest at times. It’s like he floats in and out of consciousness more frequently than Arsenalist at a St. Louis Wings party.

Gray: the bearded wonder had me wanting to get re-acquainted with the big bearded guy upstairs and ask for divine intervention into the search for Aaron’s game from early 2012.  Leo seemed to imply that Aaron had a chip on his shoulder playing in Milwaukee. Well, if he did, it was more like a styrofoam chip used in packing material because he was softer than margarine.

A. Johnson: if you are going to dunk, do it with meaning. Amir’s made the local cows lose of of their milk from the force. The rest of his game tonight was quiet, dignified, and, well, boring.

J. Johnson: in the starting lineup and playing like his momma just cussed him out something fierce. 10 of 21, for 22 points and 13 rebounds. Only the Octomom outperformed James. Still need him at the line more.

Uzoh: good stat filler for the last week of your fantasy pool.  8 points 5 assists 4 rebounds from a guy that has one more audition left before summer league and a hope and a prayer.

Driving the bus: James Johnson

Under the bus: DeMar DeRozan

Theme of the Game:

Alabi: the man is a rebounding machine. After a good appearance the other night, he comes back and registers 6 boards in 10 minutes showing Bosh that he really can play in the NBA and all those practices against him in pre-seasons past actually sunk in. Too bad Bosh had the Alabi courtside seats for this one.

Anderson: heavy minutes (45) and he started to look gassed at about the 20 minute mark. He heaved (literally) 8 from downtown and hit none. It was like he wanted to tip his hat to Jose by replicating his poor outside shooting last season.

Davis: man, I swear, I’ve lived most of my life listening to how Leafs fans are frustrated. Never understood until Davis became the embodiment of that team: give hope, then take it away by playing flat. Begin the year with such hope and an assumed average of a double double and actually play it out like you were a wet towel awaiting a surfer.

DeRozan: look, if you can’t get up to play the Miami Heat that are without 2 of their big stars in an arena that is about as loud as Arsenalist’s bedroom, and you are supposed to be the team leader, how can you expect your fans to care, let alone your teammates?

Forbes: better than the last game, but that is like saying a cracked gas tank is better than a gas tank with a 2 inch hole in the bottom of it.

Gray: Jesus man…I love you, but it’s beginning to feel like I’m a supporter of child labour. I mean, I like Nike products, but should I boast about this shirt I’m wearing knowing how it was made? Even the small stuff that Aaron was doing a few weeks ago (setting good screens, boxing out consistently, etc) has gone away.

A. Johnson: 3 pts and 4 rebounds in 21 minutes is as impressive from a starter as the sales from a hot dog cart at a vegan festival.

J. Johnson: his tiara seemed to fit well tonight and it was even kind of shiny. One of few effective Raptors on the court he kept us in it for a bit but wasn’t able to help bring us back.

Uzoh: rebounds continue to be his forte, apparently. I mean, it makes sense since the one thing this team doesn’t need is a playmaker or a quarterback. Nahhhh.

Driving the bus: James Johnson

Under the bus: Amir Johnson

Theme of the Game:

Alabi: want to know why there was no lightning storm today as predicted?  Casey had his trainers in the back pulling in all electrical charges in order to shock Solo to life. It worked. The city shook as if Mayor Ford had jumped off his couch when Solomon saw minutes in the first half and, wait for it, he deserved to come back! 24 minutes in all, going 4 of 9, and putting up 8 points, 9 rebounds with 4 of those offensive.

Anderson: after getting picked up for the season he came out and showed what an average night for him is. He was a great cheerleader from the bench, but in 25 minutes of burn he didn’t really rise above his teammates to say thank you for the support.

Davis: I’m ecstatic to hear he knows he needs to keep at it in the summer and come back a hell of lot better (read: bigger) next season. He had a monster block in this game that made me cross my legs just witnessing it, but the rest of his night featured the Edward Special: blend into the background and look like you’d rather be watching Desperate Housewives.

DeRozan: he has verbalized the fact that he knows he needs to step up and statistically he has….but is that more a result of he is basically the only go-to guy left standing? Don’t get me wrong, he played well tonight and certainly filled the bucket, but his on-court persona doesn’t befit a leader, an assistant or a closer.

Forbes: back to 20+ minutes, but uggggghhhhhhhh-ly.  I’ve seen sexier performances put on at 50+ night at For Your Eyes Only.  Nothing clicked for Gary…including the seatbelt to keep him attached to the bench, apparently.

Gray: wow. Back in high school, during gym class one day, this oaf of a guy literally missed punting a football 3 times straight. Not a held ball, not one on a tee, one literally dropped from his own hands 2 feet to his foot. 3 times. If that was Aaron Gray, it would have been 4 times after a night like this.

A. Johnson: Mr. Chuckles posted an 8 and 8 tonight and he played with a bit more pep in his step. Maybe the Canadian dosage in his Midol is stronger than the US version? He must be pretty stoked that the end is near…his season has been so up and down it’s sponsored by American Standard.

J. Johnson: Jimmy Jams made a re-appearance tonight.  A fierce dunk in the first half that will undoubtedly be shown on TSN 14 times an hour to boost their Canadian content, he made his way to the line, he passed out 5 dimes, he howled at the moon and he almost kissed Amir. Quite the Monday night for a guy who is more smug than the entire male cast of Jersey Shore.

Uzoh: if there was a magnet on the ball and the opposite magnet in the bottom of the net, he would have the ball land on the score clock. Just a horrible shooting night, but 10 rebounds?? Is that right?? We haven’t seen rebounding prowess like that from the PG position since Darrell Walker had hair!

Driving the bus: DeMar DeRozan

Under the bus: Aaron Gray

Theme of the Game:

Alabi: the equipment troll must get pissed on nights like this. An extra set of uniforms to wash as opposed to the normal “press, fold, return” that the Alabi kit usually gets.

Anderson: that’s it. I’m calling it official. Alan has played himself back into the NBA with somebody next year. Even playing on a crappy Raptors team, for him to come in, start, and, once comfortable, play the way he has? Pretty bloody good.  That spin-around 3 he hit tonight was simply beautiful.  3 of 4 from deep and 16 points in 34 minutes?  That Bargnani numbers.

Davis: not as determined on the boards tonight, but that Soulja Boy “Superman” pose at the end of his 3rd quarter dunk more than made up for it. Instant classic.

DeRozan: horrible start to the 3rd and he really only got the better of it when the Hawks changed his coverage. Otherwise, a good game for DD going 8 of 15 and doing a great job in the first half attacking the rim and drawing contact. 11 trips to the charity stripe on the night, just as it should be.

Dentmon: Spud Webb 2.0 sure is a taker and not a giver. A driving point guard of the highest order and a user of the Bargnani lean-in-for-a-foul-call method of getting to the line. Too erratic for my tastes and certainly in it to get his own. Mike James!!! Mike James!!! Mike James!!!

Forbes: a couple of 10-day guys get more minutes than you and you are put in with Solomon for your only feel of the court. Can’t be a good feeling, but at least he is fresh for tomorrow.

Gray: thought his 1st quarter was pretty solid. He was active, even though he was looked off a few times. As his minutes marched on, his weariness did too. So did mine.

A. Johnson: you call it food poisoning, I call it average. Nice hustle and effort, and as has been said here before, if he hits a few jumpers it seems to pick him up a bit.

J. Johnson: his first three quarters were about as fulfilling as broth after you haven’t eaten for 20 hours. Then, it was as if you opened the back door and saw a barrel BBQ filled with just-ready ribs and steak. James’ fourth was simply amazing and landed him with 15 pts and 4 rebs on the night.

Kleiza: another off night for the assassin. Luckily James picked up Linas’ slack (and it kills me to admit that) because Kleiza was colder than RapsFan’s wife when he pees on the toilet seat.

Uzoh: nice game from Benjamin tonight. Not sure he’s a playmaker either, but I feel a lot more comfortable with the ball in his hand rather than Dentmon’s. Be fun to see if he can move the chess pieces better being here for the remainder of the season.

Driving the bus: DeMar DeRozan

Under the bus: Linas Kleiza

Theme of the Game:

Alabi: Yup…it was one of those nights.

Anderson: he and Ed Davis decided to play pop a shot all night  Fuzzy Lids continues to try to make an impression and tonight was an above average game for him. Part of it is that nobody on the opposition knows who the hell he is, so he goes unmarked, but whatever.

Calderon: guess who took a head to his head and got more stitches? Uncle J!!!! I was amazed to see some blood come out of him since he was playing like a shadow all night.

Davis: a solid double double of 13 and 13, being vocal, demonstrative, standing up cheering on the bench. Someone got into his head for a night at least. Great to see, but still doubtful it’s here to stay.

DeRozan: seemed to have a case of the Amir’s tonight. I think if someone was standing in front of him with a gun pointed at a puppies head, DD would have tweeted about it, put his headphones on and walked away. Just seemed like had punched out at the shootaround.

Dentmon: hustled, pushed the ball, but it didn’t really amount to much. Granted, his teammates couldn’t hit a shot to save their lives, but in 18mins I’m not sure he did a great job of moving the pieces around tonight. Looked like they were stuck in mud for a while there.

Forbes: hard to say he had a poor shooting night when the entire team had one. Still, I’m beginning to enjoy his swag. He seems looser now, yet more focussed.  It’s like he should take the court wearing a pimp hat.

Gray: five rebounds in eleven minutes. His game resembled an ant farm without sand: confusion, lack of excitement, and nothing to care about after a few minutes.

A. Johnson: couple of nice blocks, active on the boards, but with the ball in his hand? About as dependable as a gate with no hinges. With that said, he did have one of his more focussed games which doesn’t really take much.

J. Johnson: if Casey doesn’t take a club to this guys knees after the last game of the season in the tunnel to the dressing room, I’d be amazed. Not like I know the coach well, but just the way he carries himself makes me think that James absolutely drives him nuts. 2 of 11 and a night full of smirks? Get a clue buddy. Maybe hang with Sonny Weems so you know what to expect in Europe next year.

Kleiza: his leg took him out of the game tonight which is a shame because he was showing like he was remembering what to do with that orange round thing again. Poor bastard can’t go a week or two without getting clipped somehow. Also, his wink to the crowd as he left? Classic.

Uzoh: an assist a minute! The man is a magician!!  Okay, he played 3 minutes, but at least he moved the ball and it led to buckets. Gonna miss this stud once his 10 day is up.

Driving the bus: Ed Davis

Under the bus: James Johnson

Theme of the Game:

Anderson: hotter from 3 point range than a Playboy edition full of Megan Fox.  I swear I expected him to stop on a spot, spin and throw one in over his head. After playing like a fully loaded pair of Depends last night, he turned it around and opened some eyes tonight.

Calderon: like Alan, Jose flipped last nights script and this time played the role of quarterback to a T, dishing out 14 assists. Know what I miss, though?  Remember how good he is from the stripe?  Love to see him back there more often. He didn’t even get a sniff tonight.

Davis: wow…I guess he just needs to go up against lanky white former college teammates on a Monday more often…Fantastic effort by Ed tonight. In just 17 minutes he did what he normally wouldn’t do in a night unless they played a double header: 11 points, 10 rebounds, and as attentive to where the ball was going as a bloodhound.

DeRozan: safe to say he sucked as much as a mimed version of Jersey Shore.  Yes, he got jobbed again on a vicious non-call, but rather than allow that to fill him full of piss and vinegar, it seemed to deflate him.

Forbes: he must have finally made it into his stewardesses Blackberry because he came out playing like he had laser like focus and a burning desire to make things happen.  He cooled off as the game went on, a lot, but it was fun to see that passion reignited for a small time.

Gray: twisted his ankle and needed to get it re-taped. That was his one big contribution, really. Sure, he was a big body against Hibbert, but other than bang he didn’t do much defensively all night.

A. Johnson: much better today and even hit his second 3 pointer of the year giving us a fleeting moment of hope in the dying seconds. Even though statistically better than most recent nights he still has run far far away from that first-two weeks passion he showed that got us all excited.

J. Johnson: Mr. Cocky still showing nothing to back up his smug attitude.  The quicker he gets out of town the better for the growth and maturity of this squad.

Kleiza: I’m guessing he found the chocolate eggs that were littered throughout the teams gear a day late because he was hopping around the court like he needed to be tied down. He played harder defensively than I have seen him play all year and he was feistier than a 38 year old nun that just disowned the convent.

Magloire: nothing more than a big body tonight. Played that role well, picked up a T, and is no doubt just looking forward to some home cooking.

Uzoh: only 6 minutes of burn, letting Jose run himself down some more in this insane season. Ben didn’t look mentally into it and it was amazingly apparent that he needed to be kept off the floor if we wanted to have a chance at this game.

Driving the bus: Linas Kleiza

Under the bus: DeMar DeRozan

Theme of the Game:

Anderson: that breeze you feel is from the wand of the wicked witch of the north beckoning Alan back, telling him his time is up. Seems to have lost the faith of Casey and is, frankly, running out of control around the court. May work at a pick up game at the CityPlace court, but not in OKC.

Bargnani: not like he was playing like Wilt anyway, but when he pulled up lame just before the half, it was all she wrote for our boys. Sure, they brought it close in the third, but even I could make it look like I was a stud for the first few minutes in bed with Ivanka Trump, but soon after that I would lose all control. No word on the severity of the calf tightness, but never good when a guy looks like he’s been bitten by a pitbull.

Calderon: Sonny Liston decided to come out for the 12th round tonight. It was mentioned on the broadcast, but it’s true: the game off actually helped him and you could see it in his shot and his confidence in said shot. He went 8 for 12 and kept OKC honest as they played him hard to start then backed off him, giving Jose the opportunity to chip away.

Davis: nothing shows how tough you are more than standing up and mouthing off to a ref when you are down big with less than a minute left in the game. You’re a tough guy, Edward. He donned his green headband tonight because, you know, it matches the uniform so well, and it brought him next to nothing for luck.

DeRozan: it’s like DeMar went to Costco for his shots tonight as he heaved 22 of them, making a whopping 6.  Talk about deep discounting. Not sure how much he let the refs into his head since he was on the short end of a couple of no-calls early. He’s been told to attack and get to the line and you have to imagine he’s frustrated when he does the first part with wild abandon only to wind up on his butt and watching the play go the other way.

Forbes: I was surprised to see him pulling off his warmups, but he did well. This was a perfect example of what his role is (much like Magloire tonight) and how he could help any team. He took advantage of open shots, defended well, and absolutely showed no fear. Very much a positive game in a dark night.

Gray: impressive line with 10 boards and what is not a typical sub 5-shot night for him. Not like his game changed at all, just fortunate to have balls land in his hand.  Kind of like Ryan Seacrest.

A. Johnson: honestly, I want to start calling this guy AR as in Animal Rescue. His game is quickly resembling the looks of the faces of dogs and cats at your local rescue shelter. Whatever is going on, the guy needs a personal intervention that involves at least 5 group hugs and a butt squeeze.

J. Johnson: and speaking of dogs, look who got released from his house. Before you get excited: 2 of 11 and the personality makeup of an orphan at Christmas. Not hard to see why Casey would sit this troll down.

Kleiza: ugh. How to describe his game tonight. Hmm. Imagine you had fallen on hard times and needed some clothing so you went to the Salvation Army. You picked up some cool clothes, felt good about them, went home and the next day you decided to wear them out. You run into that prick you hated in high school and he loudly points out that you are wearing his cast offs.  That is Linas’ game in Loud City.

Magloire: good appearance by Jamaal tonight. He was a physical presence on the floor and made the OKC front line take notice. This, along with his direction from the bench, is his strength and needs to be tapped into more often.

Uzoh: tough match up for a D-Leaguer tonight, but Ben has some skills that has him on the cusp of making the big show. Tonight did him no favours though as he regressed and regressed hard.

Driving the bus: Jose Calderon

Under the bus: Linas Kleiza

Theme of the Game:

Anderson: I guess those two caterpillars he has as eyebrows slowed his progress down a bit. Held to blanks from the field, a mere 4 rebounds and a bounce back to reality.

Bargnani: his first quarter was hotter than The Hunger Games. The rest of his game was as luke warm as a Dance Pak routine. He poor defence needed to be offset with an amazing offensive game tonight and it just didn’t happen.

Davis: not sure what those who praised his game tonight saw, but I saw another lazy ass effort from a guy that should be fighting for his NBA career. If he does get moved next season, he’ll be a deep bench option, certainly not given the opportunity he has here. 18 minutes against a weak team and rather than dominate, he simply played an average game.

DeRozan: great 3rd quarter, good game. The typical “he had passion” game for DeMar where he was attacking on both sides of the ball, got to the line 8 times, and tried his best to keep his insanely injured team together.

Dentmon: I am pretty sure my neighbour’s 12 year old is bigger than this guy. Can’t hate on him, though. Been in town 8 hours and he is on the floor running the show thanks to Jose looking like he was caught by his girlfriend cheating on her with a transgendered beauty pageant contestant.

Gray: speaking of typical, it was just that for Aaron. 7 boards, hustle, hard screens. What seemed untypical was the ticky tack fouls and how he was, at times, mentally removed from the game.

A. Johnson: active hands, but not much else. Stuck in mud, appearing not to care, a shell of himself. If he was to make KoolAid tonight, he’d mess it up.

Kleiza: look here…another LK technical foul!! Everybody take a shot!  That circus shot 3 he made early on had me pumped for what was to come, but outside of a great night on the boards (8 rebounds) he didn’t do much else of anything. He kept shooting, but like Arsenalist trying to get the attention of the cute waitress at Hemingway’s, he kept missing.

Uzoh: thank heavens for Ben, huh?  Now a starter in the NBA (well, Canada’s NBA) he had a strong showing of 4/8, 3 assists, 6 rebounds. He actually looked more comfortable out there than most of the players have all season (holla Amir, James, Jamaal). Sure to get a summer league pickup with someone, he may be playing himself into a back up role contract next season.

Driving the bus: DeMar DeRozan

Under the bus: Alan Anderson

Theme of the Game:

Alabi:  finally the one guy who only sees time if we are in a blowout gets on the floor when we are on the positive side of a blowout. He must enjoy it more because he actually scored and possibly tripled his value to this team at the same time.

Anderson: with Forbes and James Johnson both sucking their thumbs on the bench and not being able to play, Alan got the starting nod. No. Really.  He went 3 of 4 from deep and looked as comfortable as an over stuffed arm chair after Easter dinner.

Bargnani: hard to deny he is back feeling the golden touch. He’s upped his 3 point attempts as well, launching 7 of them tonight over smaller covers.  He looked into it defensively as well…..well, as “into it” as your 17 year old son is into his homework when the Hooters bikini contest is on.

Calderon: well, he’s always wanted to be a pirate and tonight it almost happened. He played most of the game with stitches and a band aid over his eye after taking an elbow to the head that sent him to the floor like JFK in the back of a convertible. I haven’t seen someone fall hard like that since RapsFan first saw a Pussycat Dolls video. The elbow obviously had no affect as Jose posted a double double and perfected the Spiderman stance defence.

Davis: there ya go young fella. That’s how you come out and play amongst the big boys: pointed shoulders, active hands, a spring in your shoes and a little smack talk about your opponents herpes rumour. Wee Eddy pulled down 14 boards in 25 of his best minutes in weeks.

DeRozan: I had wondered if he would flatline after a solid game last night, but he didn’t.  He took a step back defensively, but others pulled up their game to make up for that. Offensively he hit some shots but did end up taking some questionable ones where a dish to a teammate may have opened up some opportunities.

Gray: well, at least his offensive output decided to take an upswing. Up against Hawes for a lot of the night wasn’t ideal for Aaron, but he fought hard all night and his set screens led to some buckets.

A. Johnson: much better than last night. Might not have shown in the stat sheet, but Amir was motoring all night and making the Sixers bench defend him. Even on nights where he doesn’t take shots, being that threat opens the floor for others to wreak havoc.

Kleiza: 10 points, 7 rebounds, a pass that looked like it was from a Globetrotter, and all with cheesesteak sauce staining his jersey. There wasn’t much wrong with his game tonight and you could tell he was having fun. Love to see him this engaged all year and be a solid 7th man next season.

Uzoh: best game as a Raptor by far. Much more comfortable in the offence, a lot more vocal, defended with desire, and finally decided to let loose with his shots. Didn’t hit many, but nice to see him trust himself.

Driving the bus: Jose Calderon

Under the bus: Aaron Gray

Theme of the Game: