The “finally four quarters equals a whole” edition:
Alabi: garbage time, but finally productive garbage time from Solo Cup. An unguarded semi-slam where he looked as surprised as anybody that he was wide open 3 feet from the rim.
Bargnani: he was as likely to hit from the outside consistently tonight as I was to hit a giraffe with my car while driving down Yonge Street. Otherwise he actually had some life in him tonight, going 9 for 20. Still not enough passion to drive and pick up fouls on New York, but he created space for himself and looked to be trying to shoot himself out of his funk.
Calderon: nothing says lovin’ like 45 minutes of court time. He and Baron Davis were in each others grill every time they faced each other tonight and even had a little dust up after the game. Maybe he was taking out his frustration after posting a doughnut from the floor: 0 for 10 and only 2 shots from the charity stripe. Still, given the amount of playing time and the fact that he is still probably smarting from his injury, you have to give him a slight pass.
Davis: Sadly, it would appear most of his attention was on his Tar Heels being taken to task by Ohio tonight. Save for about 4 minutes of playing time, his head certainly wasn’t in Canada because he looked as attentive as a bobblehead.
DeRozan: this guy played with so much passion tonight you might as well call him Cupid. Above the rim, below the rim, hanging the net from the rim, booking a trip to the Pacific rim…..it was nothing but net all night. 11 of 17, 8 of 9 from the free throw line, and the concentration of a cat watching a mouse.
Forbes: call the FBI because we just experienced a seismic shift that has caused a hole in reality. Gary actually contributed to a Raptors win!!! He shot 8 of 12, something so miraculous that the only equivalent would be a statue of the Virgin Mary looking like she was pregnant.
Gray: he still hasn’t shown the pinache that he showed in spurts this season, but he is still using his length to cause disruptions and pull down some boards. Until he throws in some offence though, it’s like buying gasoline laced with sugar.
A. Johnson: evidently he found the oil can in the tool shed and decided to oil up the springs in his shoes. 4 blocks helped keep the tone in the game tonight and even though, like Gray, we have seen much better this season, Amir had a game that saw solid effort.
J. Johnson: well rounded game tonight with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists. If he were a pail, he’d be overflowing. As much as I typically can’t stomach the guy, I’d love to see him come off the bench and provide those numbers. He would quickly become a household name in this league as opposed to what he is now: just another schmuck on the Raptors that play in a foreign country.
Kleiza: before you go to bed tonight, please check your tickle trunk and see if you find Linas’ game….because right now we are out of places to look. The drop off in his game is quickly taking the same trajectory as Rebecca Black’s career.
Driving the bus: DeMar DeRozan
Under the bus: Linas Kleiza
Theme of the Game:
