Welcome back Parker! I don’t even know where to start about Parker. He misses 5 games with a sprained ankle and on the first game back; he is covering either Ray Allen or Rashard Lewis, plays 40minutes, chips in 11pts, plays solid d, gets a steal and a couple boards. What more can you ask of this guy? He is the most crucial piece of this team (glue guy) as far as I am concerned. There are bigger pieces on the Raptors, obviously, but he is crucial to their success - all you have to do is.

I will admit, there were points that I really thought this game over. Between Allen, Lewis, Wilkens dropping daggers, and some bad executing on offense for the Raptors…it was tough. If you say nothing else, you have to say these cats fight. Mitchell has instilled that in them. My only thought on that is why didn’t these guys have fight the last two years? COY? I don’t think so, he has a dramatically upgraded roster - much easier to win with better talent from a to z. COY candidate? Of course, you have to put him on the short list.

Juan Dixon is making Colangelo look like a genius (more of one ayways). Why wasn’t he used more in Portland? Makes no sense to me. He has been solid since he was in Maryland. I really think, with his addition, we should really be limiting Joey Grahams minutes. I wouldn’t sacrifice minutes from MoPete in favour of Graham. That is just me. Speaking of Joey Graham, I was absolutely embarassed for him. When you was putting up that hail mary from 75ft, and got blocked by Rashard Lewis, lol. I don’t think that has ever happened in the history of the NBA. Leave it to Joey to make that happen.

Seems like an odd time to start expanding the bench, don’t you think? Giving Humphris, and Graham extended minutes at this point is giving me a headache. This is historically the time you shorten your bench to 8 or 9, and buckle down for the playoffs. Not give Humphries 8-10 minutes when he has been averaging only 3-5 for the season. I am not hating, I just need to question the decision. If i was Mitchell, my focus would be on getting a solid 8 or 9 man rotation going. I would go with (in no particular order): TJ Ford, Chris Bosh, Anthony Parker, Jose Garbajosa, Rasho Nesterovic, Jose Calderone, Andrea Bargnani, Juan Dixon and Morris Peterson. Not the time to give the kids and role players an opportunity to show what they have. If they play, it is strictly a function of injuries, or foul trouble; period!