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Toronto Raptors: Whose stock is rising, plus Marc Gasol is settling in nicely

By Thomas Valentine

TORONTO, CANADA - FEBRUARY 26: Marc Gasol #33 of the Toronto Raptors stands for the National Anthem before the game against the Boston Celtics on February 26, 2019 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - FEBRUARY 26: Marc Gasol #33 of the Toronto Raptors stands for the National Anthem before the game against the Boston Celtics on February 26, 2019 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors – Jodie Meeks (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /

Jodie Meeks

Shame on you if you didn’t see this coming.

Meeks made his debut against the Orlando Magic on Sunday afternoon, the proprietor of a recent 10-day contract. Meeks would get an opportunity to strut his stuff in the second quarter. Expectations were fairly muted.

Checking in at the eight-minute mark with the team down by 12. Meeks made his first shot at the 5:03 mark, a corner three assisted by Pascal Siakam, who got a bit tangled up with two defenders around him, the help defense from Wesley Iwundu left Meeks wide open.

After Meeks missed his second three he got the chance to immediately redeem himself. A pick-and-pop play from Lowry and Gasol started at the top of the key. When Kyle fed the ball back to Gasol, Terrence Ross, who was guarding Meeks began to drift towards Gasol too early in order to help Nikola Vucevic. Gasol read the play and kicked the ball out to Meeks. Result: three-pointer number two.

Meeks would go on to have 10 points in the quarter, a real glimpse into what he could provide if the Raptors follow up on his 10-day contract. An end of the rotation player who could drop into the game and hit multiple threes in a quarter is aces in my book.

Admittedly, he did regress to the mean when he reappeared later on in the game, but those 10 points probably did enough to convince Nick Nurse that he can feature more regularly for the team.

He did see some garbage time minutes at the end of the blowout win versus the Celtics and contributed with five points, including another three. We’ll see what happens in the near future.

Those eight minutes though, they will live on in memory. Maybe.

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