Toronto Raptors: Top five performances from a comfortable week five

3. Fred VanVleet

Opponent: Orlando Magic

Stat line: 24 points, 1 rebound, 7 assists, 2 steals, 53% field goal.

Fred VanVleet has been everything the Raptors have hoped for and then some. Everyone following VanVleet knew that he would take another leap this season. A player who was once viewed as a backup point guard has now shown that he has the ability to lead a team as a starter.

Over VanVleet’s last two weeks without Lowry as the starting point guard, he has averaged an impressive 21.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game. The steals especially are eye-popping and he showed that steal rate yet again against the Orlando Magic.

VanVleet had it going early against the Magic as he was directly responsible for 12 (four scored and eight assisted on) of the Raptors 32 first-quarter points. It was more of the same in the second, as he scored nine points and assisted on two as the Raptors had a ten-point lead at half time.

VanVleet was incredibly consistent in this one, adding another great quarter, scoring seven and assisting on five points in the third. With the lead at 11, both VanVleet and the Raptors put the icing on the cake. He scored another four points and recorded one fourth-quarter assist as the Raptors cruised to another easy win against Orlando.

With Lowry set to come back at the beginning of December, VanVleet’s days as the starting point guard are numbered. But be rest assured that Nick Nurse has noticed how well VanVleet has played in the starting unit so far this season. Any talks of Norman Powell jumping into the starting five should be squashed right away.