"Jerryd Bayless is probably his own harshest critic and on Monday he sounded entirely put off by the simple reality that he cannot yet do what he used to thanks to a prolonged absence caused by a sprained ankle.

But even if the Raptors point guard talks about his heightened frustration level at not being able to immediately pick up where he left off when he was injured Dec. 29, his coach was quite pleased with what he saw in Bayless's return on Sunday afternoon.

"I saw an air of confidence that we get from that position," Dwane Casey said of Bayless after putting the Raptors through a two-hour workout at the US Airways Center here. "He's still not 100 per cent but he's getting there. He looked better (Monday), moving, cutting, playing defence and hounding the ball, running pick and rolls.""