Top five Toronto Raptors performances from a tough week seven

1. Kyle Lowry

Opponent: Philadelphia 76ers

Stat line: 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals

While injuries are a part of the game, sometimes you just wonder how a team can get so unlucky with them. Unfortunately for the Toronto Raptors, the injury bug hit them yet again, this time taking Fred VanVleet. Just when the Raptors were celebrating having a nearly fully healthy squad (minus Patrick McCaw), VanVleet suffered a right knee contusion early in the game and was unable to return.

This meant that Lowry had to take on that load for VanVleet and run the offense in just his third game back from his recent thumb injury. It didn’t help that no one not named OG Anunoby could buy a basket in this one. Lowry had to defer from his playmaking and focus more on scoring if the Raptors had any chance to win this.

He did just that as he dropped an efficient 26 points, shooting 50-percent from the field. He was also able to drain four three-pointers shooting them at a 50-percent clip and also hit eight shots from the free-throw line at an 89-percent clip. It was a masterful performance for a player that shot only 11-percent on 18 shots in his first game and 62-percent on only eight shots his second game.

The rebounds and assists will always be there for Lowry as he is averaging 4.5 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game on the year, but if Lowry can continue to shoot the ball 15 times per game and knock down close to 50-percent of those shots, it would go a long way for a team that could be missing VanVleet for a few games.

Even though the Raptors finished a poor 0-3, it is quite impressive seeing Lowry appear on this list twice the first week he comes back from injury. He will be a staple on this list soon enough.