Toronto Raptors: Whose stock is up/down, including Kyle Lowry’s tanking stock

The Toronto Raptors train kept rolling in a week where they faced off against a big Eastern Conference rival. How did each player fare individually in week seven?

A collective sigh of relief in Canada, as the Toronto Raptors bounced back from a loss to the Denver Nuggets (a game they had no business being in, by the way) with a big win against one of their main contenders in the Eastern Conference.

Philadelphia came to town feeling themselves, boasting an 8-2 record since acquiring Jimmy Butler, a man who has given the Raptors all sorts of problems in the past. The Raptors have Kawhi now, and that makes all of the difference.

Especially on Wednesday night, a scenario where everyone who wasn’t Kawhi struggled shooting from outside the arc. A persisting problem for the Raptors this season, Toronto shot 27-percent from deep against the 76ers and 26-percent against Denver. Oh, and 26-percent against the Cavaliers on Saturday night too.

Let’s rewind to the ugly, ugly game against the Cavaliers on Saturday. Led by Tristan Thompson, who crashed the glass all night, Cleveland found a way to stick around and cause problems for the Raptors, who rested Kyle Lowry for the evening.

The starters all finished with double-digit points on the night, Kawhi the pick of the bunch with 34. The bench, like most nights this season, allowed the Cavs back into the game but I will put a positive spin on it and suggest the bench are just allowing the starters to remain focused at all times.

Monday night at home to Denver was a different story, the Raptors stuck in that game without having any right to be there. The Raptors shot the ball poorly all evening and turned the ball over countless times, but as good teams do, they managed to keep the Nuggets within arm’s length. The bench even put in some meaningful minutes, Delon Wright looking quietly impressive.

Briefly reverting back to the Sixers game, the Raptors contained Embiid and Simmons for most of the evening, Kawhi caused Simmons problems again. In one instance in the first half, Kawhi turned the ball over only to strip it out of Simmons’ hands on a fast break. I like to think he was just toying with his opponent, Simmons finished with 7 turnovers. Yikes. Oh, and JV had a monster game which included 18 points in the fourth quarter.

Side Note: Moose Watch is now a thing, Greg Monroe checked into the game and poked an entry pass to Embiid free, driving down the court and forced Embiid into a goaltending call. Five minutes, four points, four boards, and a LOFTY +1 on the night. Moose watch is here.

Anyway, let’s see how some lucky fellows and some unlucky fellows might I add, fared this week.