- It was almost uncanny -- tracking the game from work, the first number that jumped out after three quarters was that José Calderón had yet to make a basket and had only a couple assists. Then he ended up getting 11 of his 12 points in that 38-21 fourth quarter. How many teams plank a point guard who has a double-double? (T.J. Ford had 17 points and passed out 10 dimes.)
- In Cool Standings' computer simulations, the Raptors (45-33) average out to 47.3 wins. Fourth-place Miami (42-35), who is 2 1/2 games behind, averages out to 44.9 -- but good luck guessing which two games Miami is going to drop out of closing stretch that consists of at Charlotte, home vs. the Agent Zero-less Wizards, Indiana, Boston and a trip to Orlando to complete their schedule.
- So does that mean the Raptors might end up in the 4-5 quarter-final vs. the Bulls after all? It shouldn't. The Pistons only have to beat Orlando on Wednesday to clinch home court through to the Eastern final, so keep your fingers crossed they might rest some regulars in their two remaining games vs. Toronto.
That win on Sunday was nice, but it would be a wicked burn if it ultimately keeps the Bulls from beating out Cleveland for the No. 2 seed. LeBron James notwithstanding, the Cavs are a better matchup for the Raptors than the Bulls. One-man teams -- the Cavs and the Wizards when Gilbert Arenas is healthy -- are very favourable for the Raptors, since they cut off the passing lanes well. - OK, so not everyone south of the border gets the Raptors. The Philadelphia Daily News' post-mortem on the Sixers game last Friday made light of Philly's Andre Iguodala referring to Calderón as "Garbajosa," as in, "José Garbajosa, who is out with a broken leg." Actually, it's Jorge Garbajosa, but that's how deadline writing goes sometimes.
That's all for now. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca.
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