Reaction: Blazers 79, Raptors 102

I remember when Tiger Woods fixed his swing and went from good to great. Ed Davis has done the same with his jumper and gone from disjointed to workable. Tonight he was a cow grazing on Calderon’s grass and whilst taking dumps on Aldridge. It’s going to be awfully difficult taking him out of the starting lineup for Bargnani, if that time ever comes.

Two quick fouls and a seat on the bench. He wasn’t needed today and at some point I actually entertained the thought of playing him at the three just to throw Portland off.

Listen man, I don’t know if there’s a God or not, but if there is he plays for the Raptors, wears #8 and talks with a funny accent. Seriously though, he is God. Or at the very least Yahweh, or something. He was hunting for Ed Davis on those screens with the accuracy of the Beltway sniper. I say put him on the trade block and ask for LeBron in return. Take it or leave it.

They say the sun even shines on a dog’s ass every once in a while. Tonight was not that while.

Hollywood was on game tonight and it didn’t help that Wesley Matthews was operating on a scouting report from 2009. He had more clean looks than me at the front-row seat at the Rail. There’s a sense of calmness instead of the usual anxiety when he shoots now, give the Raptors coaching staff some credit for bringing in the lift and arc to his springers.

Had a couple nice moments on the offensive glass, got away with a double-dribble and no-doubt tapped a waitress in celebration of the new haircut. I get the sense that when Jose and him hang out off the court they finish each other’s sentences. Overall, solid effort going up against a team whose frontline has often terrorized us.

Desperate to prove that he’s worth something, he decided that rebounding is the best way to inflate the box score line, and that’s fine by me as long as he’s not creating space for leak outs. Had a couple drives and did enough for Leo and Devlin to drool over his glue-like abilities. I particularly like how, when he was inserted at the four for a bit, Leo brought out how Fields doesn’t complain about playing the four when he’s really a three. Yeah, give me a contract like that and I woulnd’t complain about cleaning the ACC toilets.

Why you fail me bro? Got setup nicely by Anderson for a pick ‘n roll and he blew the layup. That will not stand.

Garbage time entry into the ledger.

You could see he was tempted to shoot more than two shots but given the play of Calderon and how well it was received, decided to play the role of playmaker. Nine assists in 22 minutes is a very Calderon-like stat, and it’s no coincidence because the time on the bench has made Lowry reflect, and based on this game it seems to be the right type of change. It should be said that given how Davis and DeRozan were going tonight, his offense wasn’t needed.

One of his off games, or should I say a type of game we all expected him to have at the outset of the season. He’s been a nice surprise and I’d like it if he continues surprising me instead of the Raptors counting on him for something. Carry on, Alan.

6-9 from threes and looking every bit the shooter the Raptors hope they drafted. Give it some more time and he might be a candidate for sweetest stroke in the NBA. Pepper the line with a few steals, rebounds, and assists and you got a complete game, made all the more fun given the blowout.

Decided to play small ball in the first half with Fields at the four and it worked out, with Portland opting not to force the Raptors to play big via Aldridge. Good move on the part of Casey as Portland was on a back-to-back and was not interested in running around too much, let alone playing up-tempo.