The well, at least the Yankees won edition
Banks – considering what he had given us previously, he is already off to his best season in a Raptor uniform. Hustle, took a hard foul, talking on the floor. Has he played well enough to be the 10th man in the rotation?
Bargnani – continued to attack the hoop and take no prisoners (well, in the laid back Italian sense of the phrase). Worth noting he is doing this against some good sized opposition. Promising start. Very.
Belinelli – this guy has the inside/drive game of Kapono: that of a tall guy slipping on a banana peel. Look, I love off balance shots as much as the next guy, but I’ve seen drunks coming out of booze cans that have better footwork in traffic.
Bosh – he forgot his suit. Seriously. Couldn’t he get his keeper to go get it for him? Besides that, it’s your first in-person competitive game of the season. Shouldn’t your iPhone app have reminded you of that?
Calderon – well, the early assist total has some breathing a bit easier, I’m sure. After watching him talk with Jack and using that shooting star motion with his hand again, I’m convinced I would pay to watch a channel that only showed Jose and had him miked for the whole game. Kind of like those NASCAR channels where you follow one car for the whole race. I think it would be fantastic to listen to him try and talk to, say, Reggie Evans…not to mention the responses. I still have that RaptorsTV commercial where he is yelling to Joey before an in-bounds play. I actually have it running on a loop. It’s like my own personal zen.
DeRozan – starting to open up a bit, which is nice to see. Now, how much of that is attributed to the fact that he has seen the same guys 2 nights in a row with a video session in between? I’m also concerned that he might run himself into the ground a bit. I get the sense that he feels pressure to produce and that scares me a little.
Douby – you know when you start a job and, after a few days, you pinpoint a guy that seems cool, works hard, seems bright, but doesn’t hold down a position with any oomph behind it? Then you watch him a bit closer and realize that he is just a loafer that doesn’t really possess the skills you originally thought he had? Is his name Quincy too?
Evans – absolutely deserving of the credit for rebounding like a hot blonde after dumping RapsFan, but if we see him bringing the ball up the court twice in a game ever again, he deserves to be tied to a backboard, covered in chocolate, and having Patrick O’Bryant see how high he can reach with his tongue…… That or Evans on a break up the court..not sure which is worse.
Jack – nice game. Wonder if the substitution pattern of having him come in as the sixth man and stay on the floor with Calderon will carry over. Be nice to see for 2 more games if only to judge how the competition reacts. Think he needs to drive and kick more, keeping the D guessing on his drives.
Johnson – solid performance tonight, again allowing me to smile knowingly at the fools that questioned me picking him as my X factor this year. Love this guys heart and hustle so far, but I wonder if it would be as noticeable in small spurts. I worry that he needs some time to get going, and is there enough minutes to go around to allow him to warm up.
Nesterovic – you know how in S&M you have a safe word when stuff gets a little too scary? Mine is Rasho.
O’Bryant – Dude. Seriously. What the hell was THAT? I counted one good play. One. You could tie my right arm to my left foot and I’d still appear more athletic than you..and I have the body shape of an elephant that ate a Mini. I still have high hopes for you, but after tonight I think I might have to unfollow you.
Turkoglu- did you see that suit? Evidently that first cheque hasn’t been deposited yet since he was able to just scrape enough together to get to International Clothiers before the opening tip.
Weems – you have to think Alvin is looking at this guy and seeing his desire in him. He was playing against mostly scrubs, but Sonny was all over the court. They should have tied a mop to his ass and saved some money to offset that $40zillion dollar TV studio that season ticket holders paid for. What does it say about us that Banks and Weems may have more fans leaving the building than came into it?
Wright – now his suit was poppin’. You can bet he has his Lexus all shiny and he’s heading out to some club tonight, ordering some bubbly, telling people he balls and that he knows JayZ. Oh wait, no, that’s me.
Driving The Bus: Amir Johnson
Under The Bus: Patrick O’Bryant
Game Theme: