Thrown into the starting lineup since the Jermaine O'Neal injury, Bargnani hasn't just been good.
He's been great.
He's topped the 20-point plateau in seven of his 10 starts and got loose against Chicago for a career-high 31. He's even rebounding at a much steadier rate, which has been one of the biggest knocks on him since he entered the league.
In short, he's playing like what everyone envisioned when he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2006.
Of course, this just confuses me even more. There's a big part of me that thinks this recent surge is simply a hot streak and the Raps should trade him now while his stock is high.
There's also something telling me to keep the faith, that Bargnani is finally getting it and the best is yet to come.
My dilemma completely aside, Bargnani has been the Raptors second best player so far this year, and even the reason...uhh...I'm having trouble here...he's even been the reason they've won a couple games.
What did I just write?
Grade: B+
Joey Graham
Much like Joey Graham's first two years in the NBA, his third campaign has been an up and down affair.
He began the season near the end of the bench, finding spot duty in the first handful of games before sparking a Raptors win against Charlotte with a 17-point, five-rebound effort.
Over the next eight games, he'd only fail to hit the double digit mark in one contest, which lead to the proverbial stream of "Has Joey Graham turned the corner?" stories from everyone associated with the Raps.
Umm, not so much.
Graham has transformed back into the much more mundane version of himself, which should disappoint many but surprise nobody.
With his contract up after this season, his place in the NBA is still very much up for debate. He clearly has the physical tools, but can't seem to string together more than a few good games at a time.
Joey Graham's career is like the movie Groundhog Day, because the same thing keeps happening over and over again.
Yet, it's not like the movie Groundhog Day, because there ain't a damn thing funny about it.
Weird.
Grade: C+
Kris Humphries
The story on Humps is pretty straightforward.
When he gets to play, he plays hard. He's far from the most talented player on the roster, but a lot of the Raptors could learn something from him.
That being said, he still only averages 3.9 ppg and 2.5 rpg. If this was a real report card, Humphries would be the kid in class who stutters through a single paragraph for 10 minutes when it comes to read out loud.
Yeah, he's trying hard...but at the end of the day, he can't read.
Grade: C
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