Toronto Raptors: Top 5 performances from week 10

Week 10 saw the Toronto Raptors finish with an unimpressive 1-3 record against a tough slate of opponents. With the injuries still hurting Toronto, what Raptor performance made the top five this week?

This week was historic for Canada in general as it was the first time that Canada has hosted an NBA game on Christmas, so expectations were fairly high that the Toronto Raptors would make the most of the spotlight. However, as the team dealt with injuries to Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol and Norman Powell it was always going to be difficult to get wins.

The Raptors first matchup against the Indiana Pacers was especially hard due to the fact that it was the second night of a back to back on the road. This caused the Raptors to look sluggish in the first half, however, they were able to rally in the second to take the game to overtime. But in the end, they were unable to close the deal as they lost in overtime heading into their Christmas day showdown.

Playing the Boston Celtics on Christmas was the season’s biggest game to date, even if the Raptors were playing without their full squad.  The talent disparity definitely showed in this one as the Celtics were able to easily beat the Raptors and ruin Canada’s Christmas celebration.

It’s funny how the NBA schedule works though. The Raptors’ next game was also against the Boston Celtics, this time in Boston, giving them the perfect opportunity to seek revenge for their Christmas day loss. They did just that as they beat the Celtics by 16 points to pick up their first win of the week.

Their final matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder was another second night of a back to back. This time, luckily for Toronto it was at home. The Thunder were winners of five of their last six games and they took that momentum into Toronto and defeated the Raptors by a point in a close game.

Although it is disappointing to see the team finish 1-3 this week, it is encouraging to see the team fight as hard as they have. Their only big loss was Christmas day and their other two losses were both on second nights of back to backs.

Still, even in losses, there were still some great noteworthy performances this week from multiple players, so which Raptor performance made the top five this week?