NBA quick hits

Raptors notes:

Raptors coming off three straight wins over Houston, Atlanta and Dallas. They now sit in fourth place in the East at 13-10 and they can thank Chris Bosh for coming up big since his return. Despite starting the season off slowly offensively, Bosh has been putting up great efforts all year. He has truly given 100 percent for the Raptors this year and if he keeps playing as hard as he has been, with his shot starting to fall, the Raptors will win 50 games.

Toronto's depth has been confirmed in the last couple of weeks. Kris Humphries has really stepped up. I've never been a K-Hump backer, but Kris looks a little leaner and a step quicker this year. Make no mistake about it, apart from Darick Martin, every single Raptor is capable of making a significant contribution for Toronto if needed.

Bargnani has been terrible lately, but I don't think it's time to panic. He'll come out of his slump and play his best ball when it counts later in the year and in the playoffs for Toronto.

Bryan Colangelo's offseason moves continue to payoff. Carlos Delfino is a top sixth man on almost any team in the league. He has the ability to change a game with his offence on any given night and is capable of hitting tough shots when he's locked in. Although his offence is still inconsistent, he always plays hard on defence, runs the floor, and plays a solid all-around game.

Kapono is one of the best shooters in the league. The Raptors need to try and get him more good looks and even though Kapono and Ford didn't seem to feed very well off of each other earlier in the year, I think the time Ford spent on the bench may help him in the long run with regards to playing with the new Raptors (Kapono, Delfino and Moon). At least it looked that way before Ford went down again on Tuesday night.

Ford's hard fall was a scary moment for everyone involved. It was great to see Sam Mitchell stick up for his player. I'd like to see more of that fiery attitude from the Raptors players when the time is right. Mitchell may not be the best coach strategically, but he's one of the guys and I don't think there's another coach in the NBA who would get more out of this group.

If Ford is out an extended period of time, I hope the Raptors try Delfino out as the backup point guard rather than playing Darick Martin. Martin did an okay job on Wednesday against Dallas, but Delfino is a much better player and would benefit from more minutes as it is.

Toronto travels to Indiana tomorrow night to play the Pacers and then will go up against the seemingly unbeatable Celtics on Sunday at 1:00. Toronto's got a tough schedule coming up with a lot of road games so they can't afford to have a letdown in Indiana. Don't count them out against Boston either. They recently got killed by the Celtics while missing Bosh and Bargnani, but having those guys back should make a huge difference and I think the Raptors will at least make a game out of this one.

Notes from around the NBA:

Lebron James is the best player in the East and it's going to be difficult for any Eastern Conference team to beat the Cavs in a playoff series.

Ditto for Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in the West.

Watched the Suns the other night at home against Utah and something about them doesn't look right. I'm sure they'll get better as the year goes on, but something seemed to be missing at least for that one night despite the victory.

Every time I watch Carlos Boozer play, I am surprised at how good he has become. His shot is silky smooth and he should go down in history right next to Karl Malone when it's all said and done.

This Quinn kid on Miami is a good shooter. I can see him getting serious minutes on that team.

Jordan Farmar needs to be getting more minutes for the Lakers. Come on Phil!