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Toronto Raptors: Stock Take, and Norman Powell sets a career-high

By Thomas Valentine

TORONTO, CANADA - DECEMBER 3: Norman Powell #24 of the Toronto Raptors grabs the rebound against the Miami Heat on December 3, 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 Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)
TORONTO, CANADA - DECEMBER 3: Norman Powell #24 of the Toronto Raptors grabs the rebound against the Miami Heat on December 3, 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 Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Toronto Raptors – Serge Ibaka (Photo by Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Toronto Raptors faced off against some stiff opposition this week but came out still looking strong. Whose stock rose and who fell?

By the time you’ve read this, the Toronto Raptors will have either won or lost against the Houston Rockets on Thursday night. So, in the interest of safety, let’s all pretend that this game hasn’t happened yet and we can all go about our business.

If the Raptors won, they have knocked off another supremely talented team in their quest to retain their crown. If they lost, then it’s the first time this season that they have dropped two games in a row. Either way, don’t panic. The Raptors are either 16-5 or 15-6. Both records are impressive, and the Rockets are a good team.

For now, though, we’ll concentrate on the preceding events of the week, where the Raptors lost their first home game of the season but blew out the Utah Jazz and Norman Powell set a career-high against the Orlando Magic.

We also got the long-awaited return of both Serge Ibaka and Kyle Lowry. Ibaka returned with a dynamic performance against the Jazz while Lowry returned against the Miami Heat in the end of the Raptors’ perfect home record. It’s good to have both back, but it’ll take a few games for them to get back to their best.

The Raptors, evidently, can handle it.

They can handle it for sure, and numerous role players have stepped up to the plate in the absence of the two stars, including Norman Powell, who gets the nod as the leading star this week, but he isn’t the only player who features.

You know the drill, we’ll start with the bad news and then work our away into some reassuring news that everything is alright.

But first, the bad news.

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