Toronto Raptors: Whose stock is up/down, plus Delon Wright on the rise

The Toronto Raptors overcame the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets before falling to the Boston Celtics. How did each player fare individually this week?

Another rollercoaster week in the books for the Toronto Raptors, two games at completely opposite ends of the NBA spectrum and one of the most frustrating, but equally incredibly enthralling overtime games in a long time.

We’re now closer to the end of the season than we are to the start of it, everything is moving so fast. It’s so scary. The All-Star break and trade deadline is right around the corner and the teams who are vying for the playoffs are starting to look a lot more clear, even if the seeding is still very much up for grabs. The Raptors occupy the second seed in the East, tied with the Bucks who are ahead by winning percentage, having played two games less so far.

The Raptors are sure to be around the top two seeds by the end of the season, a fall to anything lower could be viewed as quite the disappointment in this writers eyes. There are a few kinks that need to be ironed out, players to step up in crunch time but Nick Nurse needs to be managing the game better too. Fred VanVleet has spent an inordinate amount of time running the offense when Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, and Kawhi Leonard are all on the floor. That’s fine on occasion but when the team is struggling to get shots falling, GIVE THE BALL TO YOUR BEST PLAYER.

The week started off with a comfortable victory against the Nets, before the crazy overtime win against the Wizards. The Raptors strolled out to an early lead before Wizards clawed their way back into the game with a 40-point fourth quarter, led by a Bradley Beal triple-double. It was exhausting, to the point where you almost wanted the game just to end regardless of the result. Serge Ibaka put the game on ice thanks to a late three. Thanks, Serge.

The Raptors rolled into Boston on Wednesday night with the Celtics needing a win far more urgently than Toronto. The Celtics had won their previous six games at home but were on a three-game slide, they looked like a team who were desperate for a win. Aided by a Kyrie Irving masterclass performance, they got just that. The loss puts the Raptors at 33-13, their win-loss record is probably quite generous so far, as the team definitely has another level to go to, let’s wait and see.

For now, though, let’s get to it. Who did what and who did it well this week?