Raptors Recap - The "first quality win of the year" Edition

So that was exciting!! The Raptors withstood a late rally from the Magic to grab their first win against a real quality opponent this season.

This was all done WITHOUT Jermaine O'Neil and Jose Calderon who both sat out with injuries.

Word is that Jose isn't going to make the mini 2 game road trip this week to Milwaukee and Washington which is probably the right call.

The Raptors now have legit shot at stringing together a 4 game win streak going into a back to back with Boston.

The play of Anthony Parker and Roko Ukic cannot be overlooked today. Roko's runner to put the raptors up late was just a flash of what he can bring to this team. I have maintained that Roko is going to be a quality player in this league once he can get his jump shot going. His height, creativity with the ball and his speed are all tough to defend and if he can start keeping opposing PG's honest by knocking down jumpers then the raptors will hve a formidable duo with him and Jose. Roko might not get to that point for a year or two but that BIG runner late today was nice to see.

Bargnani has also played well lately. His shot has been dropping and he's gotten into the paint and made some nice moves down low. He's defending well and really what he has given them the past 3-4 games is all they need from him.

They still need a guy that can create his own shot and get to the rim and free throw line consistently. If they can add somebody like that then they will be dangerous.

For now its just nice to see these guys get a quality win and hold a lead at home.

Off to Milwaukee and Washington this week. Both are "winnable" games which we all know have not been so winnable this season (hello OKC). If they can however get the wins then maybe, just maybe they can start rolling and take 1 of 2 from the Celtics and get back into the Playoff race.