Humphries hopes to stay in rotation

Kris Humphries was smacked right on top of the head by Dwyane Wade with 1:35 left in the third quarter of Toronto's 101-95 win in Miami. It was the kind of shot that starts little skirmishes these days.
It had to feel good.
Wade, coming over to help after Humphries had beaten Udonis Haslem for position, was pump-faked up into the air by Humphries and came down chopping, drawing an immediate flagrant-1.
Humphries no doubt relished the contact. It meant he was out on the floor.
The 6-foot-9 forward known to his teammates as "Hump" has been one frustrated Raptor this season. After playing over 20 minutes in six of Toronto's seven preseason games, scoring in double-figures five times, Sam Mitchell shelved him.
"I wasn't playing at all before. I was in the rotation last (home) game, then kinda in-and-out this one, but I just want the opportunity to play," Humphries told me Tuesday after the Raptors' loss to Orlando. "I feel like I've earned it. I just want to play, help us win some games, man."
After getting a season-best six meaningful minutes against the Celtics on Nov. 12, Humphries donned a suit for a game due to a bruised toe and had to wonder whether he'd better start getting used to picking out clothes to wear at the end of the bench.
Andrea Bargnani's insertion into the starting lineup has given him hope, albeit the cautiously optimistic kind. He was hopeful the 14 points and nine rebounds he scored against Miami on Sunday were enough to keep Sam Mitchell's trust, but couldn't be sure. On Wednesday, he got 12:32 of run and drew a team-high seven free throw attempts, scoring a bench-high eight points. He started the fourth quarter. Still, the Heat went on a run with him in the game so he can't be sure what to think. Humphries told me he and Mitchell haven't talked much about the siuation.
"At this point with me and him it's just being ready to play. I think a lot of times when you first get somewhere there's a dialogue trying to see where you fit in and stuff, but now we're at the point, where it's just, you never know, so just be ready. That's where I'm at," said Humphries, who averaged career-highs in games, minutes, points and rebounds in his second season with the Raptors, but barely got off the bench come postseason. "Last year I played a lot for like a couple of months and then didn't play at the end of the year. It's just been up and down.
"(Jermaine O'Neal) being here, I was told it was going to be more of an opportunity for me, just the way the rotation was going to go, but you can't get involved with that. I just have to be ready when he taps me."
The Raptors are 2-1 since Mitchell began starting Bargnani and giving Humphries opportunities. In that span, he's averaging 8.0 and 4.3 rebounds. Bargnani, who scored a season-high 25 points on Wednesday, has also taken to the change.

Wednesday's +/- report: Jose Calderon (+16) made a triumphant return to the lineup, finishing with eight points and seven assists as he gutted out through 32 minutes. He's clearly not 100 percent, but he's a substantial upgrade over Will Solomon and Roko Ukic, who are still trying to learn the nuances of the league after spending most of their pro careers in Europe... Dwyane Wade (-5, 40 points, 11 assists, five blocks) and Shawn Marion (-3, 20 points, 14 rebounds) were solid for the Heat, but rookies Michael Beasley (-16 in 11:56) and Mario Chalmers (-21) had a pair of Mama said... nights... Jason Terry (+10, 31 points, 13-for-21) looks like he's enjoying himself... Tracy McGrady (-3, 16 points) doesn't need to be out there if he's going to be as limited as he looks. He might want to re-evaluate shutting it down...Allen Iverson (+11, 23 points) led all starters in the +/- game in his first installment of the Cavs/Pistons rivalry... LeBron James (-5, 25 points, 8-for-21) looked less than brilliant for the first time in like weeks...Reggie Theus is no doubt thrilled that he just went into New Orleans and won a game with rookies Donte Greene (-1, 15 points, 3-for-4 on 3-pointers) and Jason Thompson (-1, 10 points, six rebounds) starting and second-year stud Spencer Hawes (+9, nine points, six rebounds) serving as the only big off the bench. Greene made his first career start... The Willie Green (-9, six points) jinx continued in Minnesota. Philly can't seem to win when he doesn't play well... Mike Miller (+5, 10 points) managed to out-rebound Al Jefferson (+7, 25 points), 10-8... Chris Kaman (+31, 11-for-13, 25 points, 14 rebounds) won't be going anywhere if he keeps playing like he did against the Thunder. For a night, he and Marcus Camby (+30, 14 points) were a dominant combination... There was another Austin Croshere (-17 in 17 minutes, three points) sighting for the Bucks, but wasn't quite as effective as his previous one... Paul Millsap (+20, eight points, seven rebounds, five blocks) and Andrei Kirilenko (+12, 16 points, seven rebounds, four blocks) continued winning games for Utah off the bench. One of them may be starting soon. Carlos Boozer landed awkwardly going up for a rebound against Luc Richard Mbah a Moute with what was diagnosed as a strained left quad tendon and will be re-evaluated Thursday... Greg Oden (+9) racked up another double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) in just 17:27 in his Rose Garden debut... Ben Gordon (-35, 11 points) gets credit for not showing up the longest (29:59) in that pathetic excuse for a game Chicago gave Portland, besting Derrick Rose (-32, 1-for-8) by 12 seconds.