Toronto Raptors: Grading Each Player's Performance at the Halfway Mark

With a 95-84 victory of the New Orleans Hornets, the Toronto Raptors moved to 11-24 on the season.

Because the 2011-2012 campaign will be comprised of only 68 games, thanks to a near-lockout, the contest in New Orleans marked the first game of second half of the Raptors' season.

Here, will take a look back at the first half of the season and assess the performance of each individual team member to date. 

Leandro Barbosa

Grade B+

Barbosa has been a volume scorer off the bench this year for the Raps.

Though his 42.9 FG% leaves a bit to be desired, he has single-handedly kept Toronto in several contests this year.

Barbosa is averaging 12.0 PPG, and could continue to energize Toronto, or fit into a deal before the trade deadline passes.

Either way, Barbosa will be a valuable commodity to the Raptors for the remainder of 2012.

Andrea Bargnani

Grade: A

Yes, he has only played 13 games this season. Yes, that is a very small sample size for such a generous grade.

No, I don't think it needs to be changed. 

Bargnani has been nothing short of fantastic this season for Toronto. He has scored 23.5 PPG, and grabbed 6.4 rebounds per contest. He has been aggressive on the offensive side of the court, getting to the line at a better rate than ever before.

Defensively, 2012 has been a career year for Bargnani. At least, in the 13 games he has played it has been. His effort has been terrific, and his strength in the post is a big step up from previous years.

It is a true shame he has been unable to stay healthy this season.

Jerryd Bayless

Grade: D-

Bayless has really struggled this season.

Granted, he has combated injuries, which have only permitted him to play 18 games, but still, those 18 games have not been good ones.

He is putting up 9.8 PPG, but is doing so inefficiently, posting a wretched 37.7 FG%. As a shoot-first point guard, that number has to change. 

Rasual Butler

Grade: F

Butler was given a chance to log serious minutes at the outset of the season, but failed to convince anyone that he deserved the opportunity. 

With the return of Linas Kleiza, Butler has been relegated to bench-warmer—an appropriate position for someone shooting 30.8 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from beyond the arc and 58.3 percent from the line.

Jose Calderon

Grade: A

Calderon has meant the world the Raptors this season.

He has shown immense improvement on the defensive end, has been a wonderful distributor and has scored when need-be.

His 10.9 PPG, 8.8 APG and high shooting percentages from all over the floor make Calderon a viable option for any number of contenders seeking a point guard.

Consequently, Jose's name has flooded rumor mills everywhere, and he remains the Raptors' most valuable trade chip, should they choose to make a deal before the trade deadline.

Anthony Carter

Grade: D

Considering how little is expected of Anthony Carter it is surprising that he could actually fail to meet expectations so thoroughly.

Granted, the 36-year-old remains on the roster in part because of his leadership. However, weighing that against his on-court performance is a tight balancing act.

Carter does nothing on offense, rarely scoring, but shooting 32.1 percent from the floor. He is likewise a liability on defense, where more athletic guards easily sidestep Carter and get into lane with startling regularity.

Ed Davis

Grade: C

Davis has been a bit of a disappointment in his sophomore season. He has watched his PPG, FG%, BPG and RPG all fall below his rookie marks.

That said, big men are notoriously slow developers in the NBA, and Davis maintains a ton of potential. He still has the chance to be an athletic center/power forward in the coming years of his career.

DeMar DeRozan

Grade: C

DeRozan has run hot and cold this season, but has ultimately failed to take the next step forward in his career.

Supremely talented and athletic, DeRozan tends to shy away from contact and settle for jumpers, which has led to a pedestrian 41.2 FG% on the season. 

DeRozan has looked better in recent weeks and if his hot play continues, could end up with an altogether decent year.

Gary Forbes

Grade: D-

The only thing saving Forbes from a failing grade is that he has eaten leftover minutes at point guard and small forward. 

Despite the versatility, Forbes has not produced in any capacity as a Raptor.

In limited minutes he has amassed a 30.5 FG%, and more turnovers than assists.

Aaron Gray

Grade: B

Gray has brought some much needed size and strength to Toronto. He lacks any sort of scoring touch, but doesn't give up easy baskets, and doesn't take many shots.

With no real offensive upside, Gray will likely never receive a grade beyond a B, but he has done what he was expected to do, and that is less common than one might think in the NBA.

Amir Johnson

Grade: B

Amir is a high energy guy that won't stuff the stats sheet, but will produce in the 24.9 minutes per game that he hauls.

Foul trouble continues to plague Amir and prevents him from logging more court-time. Also, he is a mid-range jump shot away from being an offensive threat.

If he could develop even an average mid-range shot, he would almost certainly be in double figure points per game.

James Johnson

Grade: C+

Johnson is a bit of an enigma.

Sometimes he looks like the most talented guy on the floor, but fails to capture more than flashes of that type of performance.

On a fundamental level, Johnson is extremely inconsistent.

He has been rolling of late, but it is far more likely that his hot streak is another moment of heightened performance, rather than the launch pad of a new James Johnson.

Linas Kleiza

Grade: B

Kleiza has been limited by injuries during the first half of the season, but has played fairly well when he has been on the court.

His 11.0 PPG come in only 22.3 minutes per contest.

Despite his seemingly impressive scoring efficiency, Kleiza takes a lot of shots to meet that mark. He too often falls in love with the jump shot to be a high percentage shooter, despite being an excellent three-point sniper.

If Kleiza were to diversify his offensive game a little more, he may be the best player on Toronto's roster, behind Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon.  

Jamaal Magloire

Grade: C-

Magloire was brought in to mentor some of the team's younger players, and to be a bully on the floor. While assessing the first aspect of his value is beyond my comprehension, he has done an adequate job of the latter.

Magloire has racked up some hard fouls this year, but his overall defense has been nothing to write home about.

Couple that with his offensive incompetence, and the Canadian is a very replaceable cog in the Raps' machine.