The “imagine if this WASN’T a practice” edition.
Banks – lookin’ tight in that suit. As he should by now.
Bargnani – 10 “Bad Shooting Night” 20 GOTO 10. That long range shot of his is his bread and butter and it’s like the butter was cold and unable to be spread. Just wasn’t there for him tonight. Down low wasn’t much better since, when he did find himself with an advantage, he was looked off. Maybe he needs a miner’s helmet.
Belinelli – I wonder what this guy lists as “profession” when he goes through customs. It sure as hell shouldn’t say “basketball player”.
Bosh – roh roh. Hope they didn’t trash Hedo’s mask because Chris might need it stat! Still no word on his condition, but I think some trees lost some new leaves tonight when Toronto ball fans collective inhaled. Just to add to the odd Bosh night: he played 2 minutes and had a board, an assist, and scored 2 points. Not bad.
Calderon – you know those homeless people you see every few blocks on Queen Street that, from 20 feet away, you can see swerving back and forth as they walk looking completely out of it? Well, that is a great way to describe Jose’s game lately. His shot it off, he seems incapable of finding (or putting) people in good positions and even his one clap defence is lacking.
DeRozan – he should be using these last few games to really zero in on his defence. He handled and shot the ball well tonight, but he has to use his hands on D more often. Something is lacking there and has been all season. No time like the present, especially given the competition and what’s at stake.
Evans – seriously, was there a memo passed around at practice a week ago that stated Reggie needed touches? Why are people driving and kicking….TO REGGIE EVANS??? Just pitiful. Good job on the boards tonight, which was a nice change. Wonder if Amir is worried yet?
Jack – what most teams want from their starting point guard, we get from our back up. Great shot selection (most of the night), great jogs into courtside seats again, but most importantly, he became a rallying point for these guys with their leader down. Wasn’t enough, but it sure would have been a lot uglier had he not stepped up.
Johnson – did you see him float to the rim tonight? Did ya? Nice all around game and I, for one, was ecstatic to see his constant motion be rewarded for the first time in a while. A strong double double and a great body of work against the best in the league. Well done.
Nesterovic – he is quite happy that Big Z is back in Cleveland since it means playing time. Otherwise he is our version of France. You only see him when we’ve already surrendered.
O’Bryant – at least he isn’t Jamario Moon.
Turkoglu- no touch tonight, but he created for others. A step below his recent play…which will need to be improved even more if Capn Crunch is gone for a game or two.
Weems – I was secretly hoping to see him take it at AP hard, but it never seemed to happen. I think it would have been a great boost of confidence for Sonny if he had broken some ankles or cracked some domes, especially if this is the playoff matchup. Make them plan for you and take some of the heat off our main guys.
Wright – he left late 3rd, finally giving into an ankle injury he had earlier in the game. He worked well on LeBron and even pushed the envelope a bit offensively. He needs to take a page from Bosh’s book, though: attack or somehow draw the foul and get to the line. Not hard against this Cavs team.
Driving The Bus: Jarrett Jack
Under The Bus: Jose Calderon
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