Hey, a win! A big one, too. And against that dreaded two-headed TJ Ford/Rasho Nesterovic monster!

How annoying is it that the last Raptors game, even though it was a loss, was a fantastic basketball game against a good team – but not on TV, and this game, a win, but a thoroughly boring blowout win over another underachieving team – was on CBC and probably seen by the most people? Figures, right?

Oh well. Always nice to see your team win, and even though it was a blowout, there were some exciting moments, courtesy Shawn Marion and Pops Mensah-Bonsu.

Fast forward to the third quarter, Raps leading but the game is still pretty back and forth. Then Bargnani hauls in a rebound, takes one dribble, and throws a lead pass (it’s true, it happened!) to a streaking Marion. I’m assuming we’ve all seen Danny Granger get destroyed by the Matrix by now; if not, youtube it, and agree with me that it was the most sensational dunk the Raps have seen since Air Canada was patrolling the skies. I know Joey’s had a couple nice slams and even Bosh has posterized a couple guys, but man, that was an absolutely sick display of hops from Marion. He simply obliterated Granger on the play; I actually felt embarrassed for the guy.

Marion had an alley-oop on the next play and PMB kept things jumpin’ with more hustle than we’ve seen from the anyone on this team in the last 22 months, and the rout was on. All in all, the Raps outscored Indy 37-19 in the period and never looked back.

Doug Smith mentioned this morning that Pops’ play might actually be driving up his price – out of the Raptors’ pay range. He might be right. Five games, 18.6 minutes, 7.6 points, 8.6 boards? Granted, his team has a 1-4 record, he’s missed 18 of 30 shots and has notched a total of one assist. But he’s also taken charges, played hard on defense, and hustled after every ball. Naturally, you say “you can’t make a judgment on five games!” but you know how this league works. Show even an ounce of potential, and someone will offer you a million dollars. If he averages 6 and 8 the rest of the way, and keeps hustling like that, this summer someone will offer him a two-year, $5 million deal. They’ll say, “if he can develop any sort of offensive game besides cleaning up misses, and can stay out of foul trouble, he could average a double-double!” And they may be right.

Hopefully, playing for the Raps will keep his success obscure, and the economy will keep his value down. I would love for him to be here next year – he is bringing everything this team has been missing – but I really don’t want to overpay for him!

As for the rest of the team, Bosh was frustrating to watch yesterday, as he went through the motions on offense. He settled for jumper after jumper, watching each one clang off the rim; he finally went inside, got a dunk and a short jump hook… then went back to clanging jumpers. What the hell, man? Indy’s got no one that can guard you! Take it to them, especially when the J is off! Sigh. Luckily Bargnani (27, on 9-11) took up the slack. Great game from Il Mago, still recovering from the flu.

Meanwhile, Jose Calderon had his second great game in a row, leading everyone to cry, “if only he’d been healthy all year, this team would be so much better!” Who knows if that’s true, and besides, I still see no reason why that hamstring hasn’t healed. Oh wait, I know the reason: we have the worst medical staff in the league. (I notice Jermaine O’Neal, who could barely stay on the floor for us, hasn’t missed a game and is playing 31 minutes a night for the Heat. I rest my case). If any changes are made this summer, I hope “new medical staff” is at the top of the list. Anyway. I really do enjoy watching Calderon play when he’s mixing up the drives and the jumpers. He’s so much more effective, and even if his defense is weak, he at least makes the opposing PG pay on the other end. I hope he keeps it up.

Anyway. It’s back to action tonight against the suddenly-superior Charlotte Bobcats. Larry Brown is turning that team around folks; they’re a game-and-a-half out of the playoffs and will likely break the franchise record for wins (a dubious 33). We could put a serious dent in those playoff hopes with wins tonight and Friday; but the Bobcats have strengths at many of our weakest spots. They penetrate and kick, they have some rebounders, they hustle. We don’t do those things, not often anyway, and we don’t stop other people from doing them to us.

Still, talent wise, these teams are on even ground. This could actually be an entertaining game, and lo and behold, it’s actually on TV! Prediction, hmm… well, I think the teams will split these two meetings, and Charlotte will take it tonight, by 9.