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Thursday October 9 2008 - 2:30am Eastern

The Raptors improved to 2-0 in the pre-season with a 113-111 win over the New York Knicks last night.  And here’s my take on how Toronto looked: 

Moon- Didn’t seem to have it in the first half, but came alive in the second half - especially in the 4th quarter (getting into pass lanes, deflecting balls, knocking down jumpers)

Parker - A couple of big 3’s in the 2nd half (he has officially taken over Mo Pete’s “corner office” — AP pays the rent there now).  I liked seeing him bring the ball up the floor a couple of times as well

Calderon - Great start to the game; distributing nicely.  Struggled with his shot until late 3rd-early 4th.  Got beat off the dribble a few times by the likes of Marbury.  But it’ll come.

Bosh - Outstanding.  20 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals (jumping up high - through screens; pressuring the perimeter).  Still working on the chemistry with J.O.

O’Neal - See above.  They’ll get on the same page … but right now … he and Bosh show flashes, but not consistently.  I thought he was getting up and down the floor just fine.  Loved seeing the double-teams he attracted (kickin’ it out for open looks).

Kapono - Started slow.  Very slow.  He’s got to find ways to get off his shot more often.  But you’ve gotta get him props for getting it going in the 4th … scoring 10 in that final quarter.  He may have the smoothest jumper in the entire league.

Ukic - Great speed.  Good vision.  The hands and legs sometimes seem to be ahead of the brain though.  It’s the speed of the game right now.  He’ll adjust.  And I loved that Mitchell left him out there to figure it out for himself and play through stretches.  That’s what the pre-season is all about anyway, right?

Bargnani - 5 for 12 … including only 1 of 2 from long distance?  I can accept that.  Outside of his 1 missed 3-ball (which was a pull-up leaner in transition (ugh)), Bargs made good decisions and spent a lot of the night under the hoop and running down the floor to get that early positioning under the bucket.  He may have fouled out but they were fouls that were earned, not “reputation calls” - which we’ve seen a lot of in the past.

Humphries - Despite the off-season improvements (especially with consistency), the jumper comes out a little too often.  Hump isn’t shy to shoot, that’s for sure!  But he was active around the hoop which not only led to some big-time dunks (especially late in the 4th on a put-back), but appearances at the FT line as well (3 for 6).  Hump has looked good since camp opened last week.

Adams - He played 4:30 … I’ve got nothin’.

Solomon - Active defender, especially in the back court.  He’ll make ya work.  Seems like he’s trying to get up to “NBA speed” again as well.  He’s got a pretty good handle and he’s a decent distributor … despite being more of a creator (for his own looks) in recent years in Europe.  He’ll have to cut down on the turnovers, but I was thoroughly impressed with some of his big shots in the Raptors late 4th quarter run.  And as he told Jonesy and me on the post game show, it’s all about the “D” for the Raps this year.

Sam Mitchell will give his guys the day off today, but they’ll be back on the floor on Friday and Saturday, getting set to face host the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday afternoon (Live on the FAN)

E. Smith

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