The Raptors tried like heck to deal starting point guard Jose Calderon last summer but they didn’t find any takers. They are lucky they didn’t because Calderon has been solid for them this year. He has played in 66 games (53 starts) for the Raptors so far this year and he is averaging 31.0 minutes, 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 8.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Calderon keeps all of his teammates involved in the offense, but the Raptors might be a little better if he were a tad more selfish with the basketball because he is a good shooter.

The Raptors moved 24-year old small forward James Johnson right after they got him in a deal with the Bulls last week and he’s making a good first impression. Johnson has played in 4 games (all starts) for the Raptors so far this year and he is averaging 28.0 minutes, 9.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.8 blocked shots per game. Small forward is wide open for the Raptors, so Johnson can maybe lock up the starting job for next season if he finishes this year strongly.

The Raptors were 1-11 in the 12 games that 28-year old SF/SG Leandro Barbosa missed due to injury. In his first two games back, Barbosa is averaging 26.0 minutes, 14.0 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.5 assists per game. He has now played in 35 games (0 starts) for the Raptors so far this year and he is averaging 24.9 minutes, 13.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. The Raptors are glad to have Barbosa back because they have to outscore teams to win because of an utter lack of defense.

23-year old power forward Amir Johnson is getting hot for the Raptors as of late. In his last five games, Johnson is averaging 29.4 minutes, 14.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. Johnson has made 28 of 42 shots from the floor (66.7%) during those five games. He has now played in 47 games (29 starts) for the Raptors so far this year and he is averaging 25.4 minutes, 9.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. The Raptors don’t seem to entirely trust Johnson quite yet as they always seem to make sure he doesn’t play big minutes.

25-year old center Andrea Bargnani has picked up some of the offensive slack to help replace Chris Bosh so far this year. Bargnani has played in 36 games (all starts) for the Raptors so far this year and he is averaging 35.5 minutes, 21.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Those are pretty solid numbers overall but he is only hitting 34.4% of his shots from three point range so maybe he should start passing the ball a little bit more. He could also get a little tougher on the defensive end as tough guy centers tend to push him around in the paint.