From Michigan, a 6'9 Forward, number 9... Maceoooooo Baston!

Kapono out, Moon in; Bargnani out, Rasho in; Rasho out... Baston in?

Yes, tonight's starting lineup against the Pacers included Moon and Maceo Baston. The fearsome twosome combined for one of the plays of the night, with Moon supplying a huge block, and Baston finishing at the other end with a one handed dunk. I've given up trying to decide what is going on in Mitchell's head, but as long as the Raps don't slide down the East rankings, there's no need to question. Mitchell is putting more athleticism into the starting lineup, and there's nothing wrong with that. The one cause for concern with tonight's lineup was that the Raps were badly beat on the boards, losing 47-35. The other big low point was Bargnani's stat-line of 0 points, 0 assists, 0 rebounds, 1 shot, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 4 minutes. Still, he's young, in a slump, and will get out of it. Positives for the Raptors included Moon's 7 rebounds and 2 blocks, Garbo's 6 points and 8 rebounds, Bosh's 22 and 2 blocks, Kapono and Delfino's 23 points on 5-10 shooting from 3, Parker's 15 points [including a 70 foot three] and, of course the point guard play. Ford and Calderon combined for 30 points, 17 assists, and only 4 turnovers. The Raptors as a team shot 52% from three, 88% from the FT line, and had an impressive 7 blocks.
The Raptors caught Indiana at the right time. The Pacers, after starting the year 3-0 [and getting mention in the week 1 power rankings], are in a major slump, and the Raptors were able to take advantage. Next up for Toronto is a matchup against another slumping team, the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are coming off their first win of the season, an impressive victory over the Clippers, and the Raptors will have to look past their 1-6 record if they want to win the game. Even still, the Raptors CAN win this sunday's game, which would see them improve to 6-4 heading into next week's games against Dallas, Memphis, Cleveland, and Chicago.