Week 12 saw the Toronto Raptors finish with a 1-2 record against what was presumably another slate of fairly easy competition. What Raptor performances made the top five this week?
This week was disappointing, to say the least for the Toronto Raptors. They welcomed back a familiar face and Raptor great DeMar DeRozan in what is now his second return to Toronto since being traded to the San Antonio Spurs. The Raptors also welcomed back Jakob Poeltl as they were both involved in the trade that landed Toronto Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green.
It was also a great week for the team as they were finally able to welcome back Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell to the starting lineup. With Marc Gasol also expected to return soon, the Raptors just have to wait for Fred VanVleet to recover from his hamstring injury and they would finally be fully healthy.
Their first matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers was one that the Raptors had in the bag. They were up for nearly the entire game despite missing three starters and just needed to close it out in the fourth. Unfortunately for them, however, they weren’t able to stop Carmelo Anthony as he put on a 28 point performance which included a game-winner as the Raptors lost by two points.
Their second matchup against the Charlotte Hornets was another tough one as this game was on the second night of a back to back on the road for Toronto. What made it even worse was that this game needed overtime to decide the winner and the Raptors visibly looked tired. However great performances from the youngsters on the team gave them enough energy to pull out the overtime win by two points.
Their final matchup against the San Antonio Spurs was a big one. Everyone knew that DeRozan was looking to show out against the Raptors as he did last season, so it was up to the well-rested Raptors to step up and get the win. Everything looked great after three quarters, but Toronto completely imploded in the fourth and blew a 13 point lead to lose the game by one point.
With all three opponents below .500 on the season, one would expect the Raptors to finish with a better record, however, it is important to look at the positives. With the return of Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell, this team can maybe finally start building on their strong start to the season and win more games going forward.
Still, even in a disappointing week, there were still some strong performances that must be recognized, so which Raptor performance made the top five this week?