Despite the Raptors/Pistons game starting in the middle of the day, the moon was shining brightly. Jamario Moon that is. In case you’re late to the Moon party, the undrafted 27-year-old rookie has started the Raptors last eight games at small forward and his athletic play is getting him noticed. Yesterday, the 6-8 forward erupted for the best line of his brief NBA career with 15 points, 9 boards, 3 steals and 6 blocks in the matinee victory. More info abou this Good Moon Rising after the jump.

The Fig Cap: His vertical leap is beyond all measurement. Don’t question it!

So why is he so good? Well for one thing, the moon has one third less gravity than our earth. I don’t know if you can understand that, but Mooninites’ vertical leaps are beyond all measurement. You got a problem with that? Don’t question it!

Putting all Aqua Teen Hunger Force references aside, Moon is beginning to get more comfortable in Toronto’s offensive scheme and his 6.4 rpg, 1.1 spg and 1.3 bpg averages when starting (not including yesterday) indicate his defense is well ahead of his offense so far. He’s also capable of sinking some threes as well. By way of your actions on the waiver wire, his stats can now be yours. Sorry, couldn’t resist one more…

Jose Calderon got another start in place of the still injured T.J. Ford and continued to display his excellent passing skills. Calderon dished out 14 helpers to go along with his 19 points, 2 steals, 1 block and 1 3PM. The Spaniard is second in the NBA in assists per 48 minutes (14.3) and tops for PGs in assist-to-turnover ratio (5.18) making him an elite option if Ford were to be injured for an extended period of time.

For Chicago, Luol Deng returned from his back injury with a strong game of 21 points and 9 rebounds. His presence forced Andres Nocioni back to the bench but the Shaggy doppelganger still managed 11 points, 8 boards, 1 steal, 2 blocks and 2 3PM.

Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer continue to do their Stockton and Malone impersonations with games like 36 and 11 on 17-20 FG for Booze with Williams scoring 21 and handing out 14 dimes. The game might have been closer if Rasheed Wallace hadn’t been forced from action with his knee injury for the second straight game. Jason Maxiell fared well in his absence and got his second straight start at center, possibly lining him up for new MPE with the way Yahoo! liberally handed out new positional eligibility to five players on Saturday.

Things seem too easy for LeBron James as the King notched his fourth triple-dip of the season against Indiana yesterday. James finished with 30 points, 11 boards, 10 dimes, 4 steals and 1 block for just a monstrous line. He still continues to struggle at the line connecting on just 9-15 attempts but I bet his owners are willing to excuse that shortcoming for now. Jamaal Tinsley, owner of a 5x5 performance, nearly matched LBJ’s feat with 24 points, 9 boards and 10 assists of his own. Without Jermaine O’Neal in the lineup again, someone had to pick up the slack offensively.

There was a Wally Szczerbiak sighting in Seattle. He appeared for 28 minutes and produced 27 points as the Sonics hung with the Spurs until bowing out late in the fourth quarter. Kevin Durant shot well for once drilling 11-17 FG for 25 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

In the late game at the Staples Center, Jack Nicholson watched the Lakers drop a close one to the Nets 102-100. Kobe’s 31 points, 7 dimes and 4 steals couldn’t overcome Vlad Rad’s atrocious evening. Radmanovic laid an egg with 0-10 FG including 0-7 from beyond the arc on the way to 1 point and 3 turnovers in 24 utterly useless minutes. Andrew Bynum continues to impress in the starting role registering his fourth double-dip in five games along with 3 steals and 3 blocks apiece. Noticeably absent was Nenad Krstic who is being shut down to allow his surgically repaired ACL more time to recover.

Don’t forget son, fantasy ball above all.