These are my links for February 4th through February 5th:

• These players, coaches stood above crowd – Currently starting for the Toronto Raptors, Moon was a fan favorite for his exceptional hang time and his acrobatic dunks and blocks. Moon displayed that athleticism in the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, finishing third behind Dwight Howard and Gerald Green. In only 74 games with the Patroons, Moon ranks 3rd in blocked shots (161), 9th in steals (149) and was named the CBA's Defensive Player of the Year in 2007.
• We Like Obscure NBA Players: Acie Earl – Earl only placed two years for Boston. Then he got traded to the new expansion team, the Toronto Raptors. In an April 1996 game, Acie Earl then scored a then-franchise record 40 points against his old team. Ha ha. Wasn't that a great 1997 trivia question? Who holds the Toronto Raptor franchise record for most points in a game? ACIE EARL.
• Bryant, Lakers too slick for Raptors – "Joey did a great job," Raptors interim head coach Jay Triano said. "It's tough to say that when a guy gets 36 points, but he was there, he was there all the time.

  "There was nothing easy. He didn't have any really tough drives to the basket because we showed bodies.

  "We forced him to take challenged shots. He's going to make some of them — and he did."

• Lakers’ end-of-game lineup looks familiar – Because the Lakers had shooters Fisher and Vujacic on the court and an inside presence in Gasol down low, the Raptors were unable to double-team Bryant. With Toronto's defense frozen, Bryant was able to operate one-on-one against Joey Graham and pull up for a jumper that settled into the nets.
• Too bad many couldn’t see it – This has been largely a forgotten season for the Toronto Raptors. Crippled by an underachieving roster, short on talent and effort to compete ill-conceived by Teflon Don Bryan Colangelo, the good news for MLSE is the ironic consolation that the majority of fans aren’t watching.

  Not that apathy is the culprit. It’s the incongruous battle between Rogers and TSN and the fact that if Rogers is your TV provider and the game is on TSN2, you’d have better luck cooling off Christian Bale screaming at a DP than actually watching the game.

  Who to blame amidst such a ridiculous affair?

• Depth on offense lifts Lakers over Raptors – The injury-plagued Toronto Raptors fell in the face of some impromptu defensive resolve from the Lakers, 115-107. The absence of injured Lakers center Andrew Bynum was glaring at times on defense, and Toronto's Jermaine O'Neal showed how a big man can patrol the paint by blocking nine Lakers shots.
• Chad Ford: Amare Stoudemire More Likely To Be Dealt, Cavs Don’t Have Pieces For Chris Bosh – The Cavs would have to fleece Bosh off the Raptors similar to what the Lakers did with Pau Gasol exactly a year ago. And Bryan Colangelo would have to be just as desperate to get rid of Bosh. For that to happen, he and everyone else within the Raptors organization would have to be convinced that there is no chance that Bosh stays in Toronto beyond 2010.
• Eight-Second Violation: Thursday, February 5, 2009 – There haven't been many nights in the last two months in which the Raptors put up much of a fight against any team. But with the Lakers in town and The Basketball Jones in the stands, the Raps rode Joey Graham, Jermaine O'Neal, and Andrea Bargnani on a night where Chris Bosh didn't play well. Joey Graham became a man with a decent defensive effort against Kobe Bryant and 24 points of his own. Jermaine O'Neal protected the basket like it was 2004 with nine blocks to accompany 22 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. But Kobe Bryant scored 36 points and was helped by Pau Gasol's 31 points and 15 rebounds to win their 39th game of the season.
• Lakers 115, Raptors 107 – Even without point guard Jose Calderon (hamstring) all night and top gun Chris Bosh (knee) for most of the fourth quarter, the Raptors led the Lakers most of the way until the visitors summoned some defensive intensity and locked up the game in the final minutes. The Lakers are 4-0 on this trip despite Andrew Bynum’s injury early in Game 2, with mega-matchups in Boston and Cleveland still to come.
• Thank Canada: Lakers 115, Raptors 107 – Bad rotations, poor attention to the glass, and what seemed like a rat-drinking-nicotine-water like addiction to fouling jumpshooters helped Toronto log 63 points by halftime.
• Lakers almost trip on way to Boston, but recover to beat Raptors – The Raptors started the game without Jose Calderon, who had a sore right hamstring, and finished without Chris Bosh, who sprained his right knee.

  The Lakers trailed by as many as 12 points in the first quarter before cutting the deficit to 87-85 entering the fourth quarter. They took the lead for good when Bryant made a jump shot to make it 95-94 with 6:27 remaining in the game.

• Raptors pull off an inside job – The Toronto Raptors, last in the league in points in the paint, unleashed 44 of them Wednesday in the Lakers' closer-than-it-looked 115-107 victory.
• Bosh leaves game with sprained right knee – Toronto All-Star forward Chris Bosh left the Raptors' game Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers because of a sprained right knee.

  Bosh, who came in averaging 23 points and 9.5 rebounds, walked to the locker room alongside the trainer with 9:50 remanining in the fourth. He had 12 points and eight rebounds in 29 minutes.

  Toronto was already without point guard Jose Calderon, who sat out with a sore right hamstring.

• Bryant leads Lakers past Raptors – Joey Graham had a career-high 24 points, and Jermaine O'Neal added 22 for Toronto. The Raptors have lost four straight. Andrea Bargnani scored 21 points, and Anthony Parker had 18 for the Raptors, 5-21 overall against the Lakers.
• Raptors Calderon out vs. Lakers – Toronto Raptors point guard Jose Calderon missed Wednesday night's game against the L.A. Lakers with a sore right hamstring.

Related posts:

1. Toronto Raptors Linkage for February 13th through February 14th
2. Toronto Raptors Linkage for February 14th through February 15th
3. Toronto Raptors Linkage for February 10th through February 11th
4. Toronto Raptors Linkage for February 16th through February 17th
5. Toronto Raptors Linkage for February 7th through February 8th