Toronto Raptors: Top five performances from an up-and-down Week 11

1. Fred VanVleet

Opponent: Brooklyn Nets

Stat line: 29 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 block

Heading into this game, Fred VanVleet was having a poor week as he only had a combined 19 points in the two games prior to this one, so VanVleet needed a strong performance in a big way. The Raptors needed him in this one and VanVleet did not disappoint.

The first quarter was not great for the entire roster, which included VanVleet as he was only able to score five points with one rebound and two assists on 2-of-3 shooting as he was clearly not looking aggressive on the offensive end. With the Raptors down by nine heading into the second quarter, VanVleet needed to change that.

Unfortunately, although VanVleet did show more aggression in the second, his shot was not falling as he finished the quarter with two points but did contribute with a rebound and three more assists as the Raptors trimmed the deficit to four heading into halftime.

VanVleet clearly struggling in this one really turned it on in the second half. The Raptors needed him to make a run at the Nets and he did not let them down. VanVleet scored a game-high 14 points in the third quarter on 5-of-7 shooting to go along with two rebounds, three assists, and a block as the Raptors were able to erase the deficit and build a three-point lead heading into the fourth.

With all of the momentum clearly on Toronto’s side, VanVleet finished with another eight points on 3-of-4 shooting to go along with three more assists as the Raptors won by 19 points and VanVleet got his near 30 point double-double.

As previously mentioned, VanVleet struggled this week after a very strong week 10, but this strong performance helped his averages as he finished with 16.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists and a shocking 1.6 blocks per game.