As we expected

Another game, another return.

Andrea Bargnani is indeed going to play tonight against Atlanta, Sam told us at shootaround an hour or so ago. He follows on the heels of Chris Bosh, who returned from injury on Sunday.

How much will Bargnani play? No one's sure.

"Some guys miss a little while come back and play good; some guys miss a little while and they come back and struggle,” said Sam.

"If he’s playing well, you can play him more minutes. I’m sure he’s not going to have the conditioning but I have to play him and start getting him back. He’s one of our best players."

If case you've been sleeping, Bagnani's missed four games with a hyper-extended knee.

The trouble for Sam, and Bargnani, is that there's precious little practice time. They play back-to-back tonight and tomorrow so Thursday will be a light work day, game Friday, light day Saturday going into a Sunday afternoon game and then a flight to L.A.

They'll have a full practice in Los Angeles on Monday but then it's four games in five days out west that takes them right up to the Christmas break

Busy time, indeed.

Comments

[DougG]

If Bargnani plays as well tonight as the last 2 games he played before he being hurt that will be good. He looked to be more involved in those games and contributed defensively, even when his shots were not dropping. It looked like he was being more aggressive, closer to the paint. There have been times this year when he wasn't doing that and seemed almost lost on the court.

Great game by Bosh against Houston. Hope the Raps can keep it going this time, starting tonight.

[GM]

I just hope the Raptors decide to show up for the game in Seattle. I went last year, as did many other BC'ers, and they were out of it from the git-go. Doug, pass it on to the team that it'll practically be a home game because Seattle sure isn't drawing many fans. So I don't care how tired they are, they have to compete in that game.

[Alex Taylor]

I wanted to retort your Ferrari analogy on Bargnani, because I'm perfectly happy with his progression (better is always better, but I think we scored with this guy all things considered).

Anyways, my thought is to extend your analogy and note that a Ferrari is a really, really nice car!!

High maintenance, yes, but fast, agile and powerful on the open road.

And another thing - you don't get a Ferrari and take it off-roading into the mud.

That wouldn't exactly be playing to a strength.

He's more of a Lamborghini anyways. Would pick one of those over a Hummer any day. Especially with the rules the way they are in the NBA these days.

[Alex]

So many Bargnani fans out there... not sure what they see, to be honest. Great top-of-the-arc 3-point shot, 7-feet tall and can run slightly better than Rasho, and what else?? He looks embarrasingly clumsy trying to drive the lane (save for a finger-roll move along the baseline which isn't bad), makes horrible decisions, and shows up to play maybe once every 3 games. Hey Il Maggo, you're 7 feet tall... let me introduce you to a space near the basket called the key. It's helpful for you to be there once in a while - we have enough guys who can shoot the 3.

[Zack]

Thanks, Alex. You summed up my thoughts exactly. We already have a finesse big who is undersized and shoots the ball well, we really don't need another who isn't even that great.