The Raptors turned up the heat on defense which helped them to a nice victory last night. Chris Bosh led the way for the Raptors with 35 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Anthony Parker also had a solid game with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Jose Calderon made the offense go as he finished with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists. The Raptors improved to 22-18 on the season with this win.

The Raptors will be without T.J. Ford indefinately due to an injured back. Ford has played in 17 games so far this season and he’s averaging 25.8 minutes, 14.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. The Raptors are fortunate to have a backup like Jose Calderon who has really been outstanding so far this season. Calderon has played in 37 games this season and he’s averaging 30.5 minutes, 11.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game. Calderon also is an outstanding shooter as he’s hit 51% of his shots from the floor and 90.6% from the free throw line this season. It will be interesting in the off-season to see if the Raptors keep T.J. Ford or trade him as he’s been very injury prone.

The Raptors were planning on giving Bargnani more minutes than he got last season but he hasn’t earned them yet. He has played in 29 games so far this season and he is averaging 23.6 minutes, 9.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. He has been a tad off on his shot this season as he’s only shooting 39.5% from the floor and 40.7% from the free throw line so far. He will need to improve on his shooting if the Raptors are to play up to their ability as a team.