Fan Duel Toronto Raptors

Roll Call…Oct 6 vs Philadelphia

The we’ll get ‘em tomorrow edition… Banks – a few nice passes (including a nice alley-oop), hit a straightaway three, found DeRozan for a timely three, but committed some poor fouls. This isn’t saying much but this was probably his best game in a Raptors uniform. Bargnani – In the absence of Bosh and Hedo,…

The we’ll get ‘em tomorrow edition…

Banks – a few nice passes (including a nice alley-oop), hit a straightaway three, found DeRozan for a timely three, but committed some poor fouls. This isn’t saying much but this was probably his best game in a Raptors uniform.

Bargnani – In the absence of Bosh and Hedo, he showed he may be worthy of that extension after all. Knocking down the shots you expected him to and not pulling down boards, just like you expected. He kept the Sixers honest, though, and showed why he is a tough cover when he moves his feet.

Belinelli – not a great shooting night, but he did a nice job of finding his teammates.More importantly, he has made the final 3 (with TMAC and Hedo) in the race to play “Sleepy” in the new Seven Dwarfs movie.

 

Bosh – still struggling to take the cellophane off his new copy of NBA Live. No worries, Max Deal Technologies is on the way over to make excus..err…help out.

Calderon – itsonlypreseasonitsonlypreseason. Okay, I know, but is it just me or did he look EXACTLY like he did last season? Hand claps, watching guys blow by him, getting burned by guys who he should pretty much take to school. Jay needs to sit him down and get a feeling for where he is. This game should come naturally to him. The 4 turnovers stick out like a sore thumb.

DeRozan – Slow start. Was he nervous? Possibly, but you have to wonder if he was nervous playing a preseason game in London, how is he going to feel at the Staples Center? He came on strong in the 4th and ended up with 9pts,4reb, 3asts in 27min. Not a bad statline for a rook and a great jumping off point.

Douby – Quieter than I expected and fewer minutes than I expected (17). Maybe Jay will let him loose a bit more tomorrow. After his summer league stint, he’s worthy of some burn against NBA level talent and a quick up and down team like the Sixers would be a great test.

Evans – already a crowd favourite. If you love him, though, come early. He picked up his fifth foul in the first minute of the third and with these replacement refs calling everything like they were a priest standing over your bed on your wedding night, he’s gotta keep himself in check. His 4 steals offset his lack of rebounding (3).

Jack – he was talking more than Arsenalist on a podcast. Again, on a night full of turnovers, he had his own to worry about, but he had a nice shot selection (hitting almost all of them) and showed that he will continue to drive the lane. Didn’t see the same hard work I saw in Ottawa and we need that from him. He needs to be a spark off the bench.

Johnson – on the last podcast with Arsenalist, I picked Amir as my X-factor. He showed a bit of the reason why tonight. 8pts, 10reb in 22min, showing he can be a viable backup to Reggie Evans in Bosh’s absence.  He’s not flashy, he doesn’t flail like Reggie, but he hustles and marks his territory. If Evans becomes a worry with fouls, look for Amir to steal some minutes.

Nesterovic – ah, Rasho…it’s like you never left. 18minutes of nothing but the best Rasho has to offer: a little more than nothing. He’s lost weight but he hasn’t lost his ability to suck the life out of NBA basketball. 3 of 12, 7 boards and the love of big oafs everywhere. Don’t ever change, big guy.

O’Bryant – my pick for the MIP on the Raps did me like a used cars salesman. Sure, he had a few flashes, but otherwise he looked like .. like .. me if I was a little bit taller. Dude, you are 7 foot and have the wingspan of a knuckledragging Tragically Hip fan. USE YOUR GOD GIVEN ABILITIES!!! Look at phdSteve. God made him a pessimist. He does that very well. Learn from him.

Turkoglu- I think he spent most of the night at Sugar Mountain rocking back and forth sucking on sour keys.

Weems – this guy is the Phoebe on this roster. He could go weeks without contributing anything and then, BAM, he breaks out the basketball version of Smelly Cat and, for a fleeting moment, becomes a shining star. He’ll never crack the lower rotation unless there is a horrible elevator mishap at Bosh’s condo and he and Jack are out for months, but when he does see the floor at the same time as DeRozan, you will probably see the banners at ACC flap in the breeze.

Wright – didn’t make the trip. Hurt his knee driving it into the side of the Ravens mascot’s head after scrimmage. Seriously, have you seen this thing?

Driving The Bus:  Andrea Bargnani

Under The Bus:  Patrick O’Bryant

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