Power forward Reggie Evans missed the first half of the year due to injury. But he has really brought toughness, rebounding and defense off the bench for the Raptors lately. Evans has played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Raptors so far this season and he is averaging 12.5 minutes, 4.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Evans was voted by the players as the dirtiest player in the league and the Raptors need a guy like him as they are considered a pretty soft basketball team.

The Raptors really laid a egg in Houston last night. The Rockets shot 51.3% from the floor last night and they were leading this game 97-65 heading into the 4th quarter before calling off the dogs. Marcus Banks led the way for the Raptors last night with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in 24 minutes last night which should tell you a lot about the team last night. Andrea Bargnani only shot 6 of 17 from the floor last night as he finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds. He is the player whose game is most affected by not having Chris Bosh on the court. Antoine Wright (13 points, 2 rebounds), Reggie Evans (10 points, 5 rebounds) and Marco Belinelli (11 points) had decent efforts off the bench for the Raptors last night. The Raptors are now 31-28 on the year.

So much for bringing along rookie shooting guard DeMar DeRozan slowly as he has been in the Raptors’ starting lineup since day #1. DeRozan has played in 50 games (all starts) for the Raptors this season and he is averaging 21.2 minutes, 8.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. He is also shooting 47.7% from the floor this season as he does not seem intimidated by his surroundings. Look for the Raptors to take the training wheels off of DeRozan next year.

Toronto Raptors’ center Andrea Bargnani is having the best season of his four-year career and has been one of the Raptors most consistent scorers.  Bargnani is 7′0″ and 250-pounds, but he is far from a low-post, back to the basket type of guy.  Bargnani is the epitome of a big European player, as the Italian native has a great stroke and loves to shoot the three.  This season Bargnani is shooting 47% from the field (career-high) and 36% from three.  He  is averaging career highs in points, rebounds, and blocks with averages of 17.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 assists.  Bargnani is turning out to be a very good player and worth the number one pick in the 2006 draft when many thought he may turn into another bust like Darko Milicic.  Each year his numbers have improved and he could turn out to be an All-Star in a few years.

When the Raptors signed Jarrett Jack they weren’t sure where or how much he was going to play. But, he has turned into probably the most important guard on the team. When Jose Calderon got injured Jack stepped right in at point guard and the Raptors didn’t miss a beat. Jack has played in 39 games (22 starts) for the Raptors this season and he is averaging 28.6 minutes, 10.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. It never hurts to have a lot of good guards on your team and that’s exactly what the Raptors have right now.