When Toronto Raptor general manager Glen Grunwald constructed this current roster, one of the things of which he was most proud was the depth he'd amassed.

Lenny Wilkens is pretty happy with his boss these days, too.

With Vince Carter momentarily unavailable and Chris Childs on the shelf until at least Wednesday and Hakeem Olajuwon unavailable until Jan. 8 at the earliest, coach Wilkens needs the excess manpower Grunwald's put together.

"I tell the players all the time, be ready because you never know when we're going to need you," said Wilkens, who really hasn't had his top eight or nine players together and healthy for an extended period all season.

"We're still going to execute and do the things we're capable of."

The players, meanwhile, know that they really won't get a true understanding of how good, or mediocre, this squad might be until everyone gets extended time playing together.