The “slicked back hair” edition:
Alabi: back to professional tear-aways.
Barbosa: first he seemed to be hitting the deck more often than a drug dealer at a police convention, then he pulled a hammy. Not a good thing when one of your sparks gets snuffed out.
Bargnani: as automatic and expected as your womans period on days when you are suffering from natural Viagra. You can even add in a dash of “wow” when you see him battling for boards and getting putbacks early on. A nice night that also saw him make his way to the line.
Bayless: also rhymes with careless. A poor showing on many fronts that makes you realize that he isn’t flatlining, he’s just being him.
Calderon: a double double night that, like Bayless’ evening, was exactly what you’d say was a typical Jose night: some shots that made you cringe, he always looked for Andrea first, he demanded attention, and you have to think that some teams out there are looking at calling Colangelo to add him as a piece to their playoff roster.
Davis: white headband = good night. Always happy when he makes himself be noticed and tonight he did. Fought hard in his 19 minutes and also positioned himself well on the offensive end. The future remains bright.
DeRozan: full of piss and vinegar tonight and I loved it. Being called for tickey-tack fouls on one end and being absolutely jobbed on the other, he showed some rare verbal fight and got T’d up for it. Good on him. Hell, the way the night was going at the time, I would have loved to see him get tossed. Instant cult hero situation right there.
Dorsey: Ski Hill Forehead was out on the floor. The end. He really had zero impact…kind of like a foam wall on a NASCAR oval.
Evans: he even got replaced as a carrier of Leandro. Gotta hurt the ego a bit.
Gaines: get ready young man, your time will come in less than 24 hours.
Johnson: looks like he is feeling a bit better. A lot more mobile and making himself a physical factor again under the boards. Other thing that hit me: he has become a lot less vocal and a lot more workmanlike. Love it.
Kleiza: offensively tonight he reminded me of Jamario Moon. A lot of “what the…”’s and not enough of “nice one”’s. Also like Jamario, though, he was active and made himself a factor in the game. And again like Moon, it just didn’t matter.
Stojakovic: it was Serbian night tonight. Peja chewed his best gum in appreciation.
Weems: he tweaked his back in practice. Want a hot rumour: it’s more a chemistry problem with him and the team, not his back.
Wright: he did one thing tonight that always wins my appreciation: he tried to motivate his troops. More than once he could be heard trying to wake his guys up defensively and two times specifically it seemed to translate into some good things happening. Worth its weight in gold.
Driving The Bus: Andrea Bargnani
Under The Bus: Jerryd Bayless
Game Theme:
