The “home is where disappointment lives” edition:
Barbosa: working his way back it seems. He had some of his zip back and actually ran baseline to baseline a few times tonight, something that was missing the last 2 games.
Bayless: his game was a bit off tonight (well, his shot was for sure) and then he re-injured his stump and off he went, hobbling to the locker room like a drunk who missed the first step as he left the bar.
Butler: my ego is about to get a boost, apparently. You know that great feeling you get when you are styling through Dufferin Mall and a member of the opposite sex looks you up and down and smiles alluringly, maybe even leeringly? Happens to me about as often as you finish a sudoku in under a minute. That same frequency can be applied to Butler having good games. Tonight he was 2/4 from deep, had 4 boards and 8 points in 14 minutes. Hell, that’s like a woman checking me out, smiling and then writing her number on my hand….with her tongue.
Calderon: think he maybe hyperventilated a bit when he saw Bayless pull up lame? No way he can keep up the pace he has, but tonight he was the Columbia House of the Raptors and sent out 15 assists in 33 minutes of floor time. DeMar and James having great percentage nights helps, but Jose was also playing hard tonight.
Carter: active hands on defense is about all that can be said as a positive for his game tonight. This was about as lost as I have seen him all season, looking more like he expected to be crocheting a sofa cover rather than be on an NBA floor tonight.
Davis: the man struggles with the simple stuff….scoring from the paint, rebounding in a crowd, taking the cellophane off of CDs, buying the proper tampons for his woman. Well, actually, most men struggle with that last one. Consistency is as important as water to this guy and he seems to be playing in the desert.
DeRozan: nothing but good things to say about his offensive effort. After hitting 3s with about as much regularity as Air Canada flights arriving on time, he sunk 4 from deep tonight and went 9/18. Defensively, though, he let Delfino look like Ray Allen and just refused to cover him. A few stops and this is a different ballgame.
A. Johnson: some questionable fouls seemed to mess with his head and he was back to looking disconnected and uncaring. We needed some of our bigs to step up and Amir’s energy can be infectious. Tonight it was lukewarm.
J. Johnson: attack the rim and good things happen. Look for your shot and good things happen. Show up as the only guy on an island full of cougar women and you have no shirt in your suitcase and good things will happen. Dy-no-mite went for 15 and 7 tonight and, wait for it, looked like a ball player.
Kleiza: Tie Domi with kicks is who he is. He completely got inside Larry Sanders head, who was on the receiving end of a Linas Laugh, something that has put the fear of God in many. Kleiza even received the undying support of perennial benchwarmer Magloire. Heartwarming. Kleiza fought his way to the line and sunk 6 of 7, accounting for half of his 12 points. Not a good game on all counts but he continues to grow some balls.
Magloire: best thing he did all night was tie his shoelaces by himself.
Driving the bus: James Johnson
Under the bus: Amir Johnson
Theme of the Game:
