The “we are a juggernaut”edition:
Barbosa: he hit one shot all night and it was one that went so high that God caught the ball, wiped it off with a towel, spun it on his finger, all while whistling Sweet Georgia Brown. Then Chuck Daly told him he had to give it back, which he did by letting it fall through the hoop without touching rim. God celebrated and so did about 7000 at the ACC tonight.
Bargnani: okay, this is getting out of control. He smiled tonight. No, really. A smile and a laugh. On the court. At ACC. Ready for more?? It seemed genuine. This really could be the end of the world. Life insurance offices will be overrun tomorrow. 31 and 7 and it seemed effortless.
Butler: someone BBM’d me tonight asking if I felt the tremor. I merely responded that I was at the Raptors game and it was no earthquake, it was just Rasual crashing back down to earth. Didn’t hit a shot all night and kept trying from downtown even though it was apparent to everybody that Monday’s game was a flash in the pan. Nice to have Kapono back.
Calderon: Kyrie Kryptonite. Irving made it to the line and sunk his shots, but from the field he was held down like a 10 year old on his birthday getting the paddywhacks. Another double double for Spanish Fly with 13pts and 11 assists. Not to be lost in all this: the evident disappearance of the handclap defense.
Carter: the one downside of Jose playing so well is less floor time for AC. I know he doesn’t have a ton of fans here, but I still think it’s important to get him out there to have him get familiar with the squad. This month’s schedule with Bayless out for a bit will require some time from the deep bench and someone with his pedigree is important to keep fresh.
Davis: good work, young fella. Sure it came against a team that we should beat on the second night of a back to back that looked disinterested from the start, but hopefully it’s a seed planted. Early on it looked like a repeat of every other game, but he stepped it up in the second half and made a team on their heels pay for their disinterest.
DeRozan: lawdy lawdy lawdy, TMZ has been reborn and he is proving that he can be a great piece to this team. He was feeling it from deep and he kept reloading and ended up taking 8 shots from downtown, hitting 5. It was ideal DeMar: have fun, play hard, hit shots, defend well, smile. Question for you, though: if it was an opposing player that pseudo-celebrated in front of the Raptors bench the way he did in front of the Cavs, would you be calling for his head?
G. Forbes: you are put in with 2 minutes left, you come in, hit a nice shot then come back down on the next possession, don’t pass the ball and put one up that probably cost you more bench time. Not a wise move. At all.
A. Johnson: not a lot on the stat sheet for him to be proud of, but he was laying lumber almost every minute he was on the floor. I don’t think there was one Cavs player that saw action that didn’t get some Amir sweat on him. He’s the kind of guy that can be used to deflate a tired opponent and he did exactly that tonight.
J.Johnson: ever since he ditched the hair and the headband he has played like he actually cares. He was jumping around like he heard there were pieces of gold on the rim all night, just too bad he felt he would double up if he took silly shots. Still, for a team like this, we need to learn to accept 50% effort as a B+ effort. Tonight he earned a solid B+.
Magloire: wasn’t a spectacular night for anybody from Toronto. Jamaal put in an effort that Hedo would be proud of. Inconsequential against a team that he should have had a great night going up against.
Driving the bus: DeMar DeRozan
Under the bus: Jamaal Magloire
Theme of the Game:
