The “hard fought for naught” edition:
Barbosa: with so many guys down and out, you need your better players to step up and play like they deserve to be on the floor. Leandro decided to flip the bird at that concept and turn in one of his worst efforts in recent memory. Not much worthy to speak of on his game tonight.
Butler: this guy deserves to be on the floor about as much as I deserve to be on a unicycle. He just looks like he is out of place on the offensive end, almost like he is trying too hard to impress using his skills which are already apparently severely lacking.
Calderon: yet another solid game from a guy that apparently hit up Shoppers to pick up his Consistency Pill supply. 34 minutes, 16 points, 11 rebounds. More than the stats, I’m impressed how under control he has been.
Carter: eased his minutes up to 22 and what does he give you? 10 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds. No doubt spurred (ha!) on by playing a team replete with veterans, he played the role of elder statesman with flair tonight.
Davis: talk about a game where he, for once, deserved more touches…..5/6 from the floor and 5 hard fought rebounds. This year good games from Ed come around as often as a TTC bus when you are 15minutes late for work, so this night was thoroughly enjoyable.
DeRozan: buddy was taking more shots than the cast of Jersey Shore at a Patron factory. 13 of 21, but the fantastic thing is that more than half of those were good shots. The same focus wasn’t apparent on both ends of the floor, but he stepped up to give Jose a breather from being in the offensive spotlight.
Forbes: no Kleiza tonight so after hearing that Hazel McCallion was busy playing in her Wednesday night rec league, Casey decided to tap Gary on his head and put him on the floor. Geeks everywhere rejoiced and the hashtag #freegary finally saw the side of the road for a bit. He played fine, which is to say his play was as successful as a Hawaiian Tropics bulk seller in the Arctic.
Gray: the man is about as beautiful to watch as an elephant defecating during the circus. His ability to pass when wide open is as great as the idea of using cottage cheese in your grilled cheese. Fine as a physical presence tonight, but as someone to look at to help generate offence? Yeah, no.
A. Johnson: another Where’s Waldo game for him. At times almost dominant, with great shot selection (going 5 for 5) offset by some horribly weak rebounding attempts on the defensive glass. It was like he was concerned the hoop was lined with fly paper and he’d never come down again.
J. Johnson: Mr. Personality should get a deal with Pringles after playing so many games this year with a chip on his shoulder. Problem for Raptors fans is that the attitude doesn’t translate into a good game.
Magloire: his game reminds me of the following scenario: Place an empty balloon into a 2L pop bottle. Notice a lot of room for movement around the balloon. Now proceed to pump air into the balloon and stop when all sides of the bottle are touched by the balloon. Note the little amount of room to move. That is like Jamaal in the paint as his teammates try to attack the rim.
Driving the bus: DeMar DeRozan
Under the bus: Aaron Gray
Theme of the Game:
