The “please, not again” edition.
Banks – hoping beyond hope that the rumblings of a Calderon trade turn into something.
Bargnani – it would be easy to say he had a little pop today playing against his fellow countryman, but let’s face it: he’s been playing this way the past few weeks. Established his outside game, then attacked the rim. Active on the defensive end and more than once he showed us his o-face.
Belinelli – a little too much Brio with breakfast and decided to just sit this one out.
Bosh – you think maybe he was a bit taken aback by the lack of media attention today? Even his tweets that Hadi sent out sounded like they were screaming for attention. He was a step slow the entire game and you’d think that a man looking to showcase his talents in a contract year would step up and do so in the Mecca. 18/4 on a night where he was nailed to the bench in the 2nd quarter doesn’t exactly scream top-tier free agent.
Calderon – Luuuuuuuucy, he’s baaaaaaaack. Superb game from Jose and one in which he forced Jay’s hand, making it an easy decision as to who had the ball in his hand down the stretch. Now THAT is how you play if you want to increase your value.
DeRozan – pumped from officially having a shot at the dunk contest? pumped to play in MSG as a professional? Excited that people showed up at Best Buy as opposed to Bosh’s 20 people that showed up at the Apple store last year? Probably all of these things melded together to produce on of his best games of the year. It even featured him…wait for it…on the court to end the game!! 14 trips to the line , 50% from the floor.
Evans – pants on the floor… pants on the floor…looking like a fool with yo pants on the floor.
Jack – his start to the game? Hit a 3, hit a 2, nice assist to Bargs. He had a hand in the Raptors first 3 baskets and their quick start. Didn’t fair well the rest of the way, hitting only 1 more shot and not dishing out any more assists. Good job in trying to get Hedo going, though.
Johnson – I was ready to flog him, then the last few minutes of the second happened. First he had a nice fake screen, rolled down, came back up and planted a screen which turned into a Jose alley-oop to DeRozan. Later, he blocks a Lee shot with some flair, then a few possessions later he blocks him again at the rim. Saying he was active doesn’t do it justice.
Nesterovic – his whole demeanour suggests that when he retires he would make a great prop in Jeff Dunham’s show.
O’Bryant – back to wearing suits. At least he was able to use that George Richards gift certificate that Micah Nori gave him.
Turkoglu- that fourth quarter had every Raptors fan throwing their arms in the air saying “see?? see?? you CAN do it.” Drop the Hollywood dream and come back to the hardwood, Turk. I’m sure having the ball in his hands a bit earlier in the 1st than normal had him hungering for it in the late stages. Whet his appetite if that’s what it takes.
Weems – Sonny strikes me as the kind of guy who would walk into Times Square and look like someone who just walked off the farm in Montana. Eyes to the sky, pointing everywhere, totally agog at the scene. Kind of like Hedo in front of a cellphone camera.
Wright – always has to be one guy that does nothing. Well, he didn’t do nothing. He did make the rim sound like a church bell with all the clanging, but I digress.
Driving The Bus: Andrea Bargnani
Under The Bus: Antoine Wright
Game Theme:
