Toronto Raptors Player of the Week: The Fans, who sat through some rough games

In one of the most dismal stretches the Toronto Raptors have seen in ages, the fans have been holding out hope. After getting their backsides handed to them by the Chicago Bulls of all teams, the Toronto Raptors head back to the United Center locker room to lick their wounds and assess their plans for the future.

After a 1-6 record over their past seven games, there hasn’t been much for the Raptors to enjoy as their starters sit, their bench becomes their starters, and the bench becomes Jalen Harris, Paul Watson, and Wayne Ellington.

It’s been bad.  That’s why the MVP of this week is… you! The team’s had the gloomiest stretch of ball any Torontian has seen in a long time. Rough scoring, heartbreaking losses, the knowledge that the Raps could mop most of these teams if they were at full strength. It’s all been pretty bad.

Kudos to the Raptors fans for putting up with that.

Trade season has been difficult for Toronto Raptors fans

Frantically doing salary math in their heads and punching random 20-year-olds into the trade machine to see what might come up.

This frenzy combined with the sudden nosedive of the Raptors win record means that every single player on the team’s roster is suddenly having to endure trade speculation.

“What would it take for the Raptors to trade Pascal Siakam?”  “Who’s in the market for Norman Powell?” “Where will Kyle Lowry finish the year?”  The sooner Masai Ujiri makes some boring, and probably genius, moves, the better. It’s been stressful for everybody.

Kudos to the fans for putting up with that.

The stretch of basketball has been crushing for the Toronto Raptors

Thursday night forced Raptors fans to endure a buzzer-beating game-winner by Tony Snell of the Hawks. After fighting tooth-and-nail against a more talented Atlanta team, the Raptors had to get their hearts broken in the most brutal fashion possible.

The whole basketball world knew what they were signing up for this season, but it’s easy to talk about weathering the storm when your franchise has more than two starters on the floor.

Whatever happens this season, the Raptors will have earned their summers the hard way.  All the team can hope for is a speedy recovery.

Kudos to the fans for putting up with that.

The Toronto Raptors bench has not stepped up

In the five games since the team was crippled the bench has been solid on defense but the same can’t be said for the scoring.

Subtracting the production from Lowry, Powell, and Chris Boucher, the Raptors have been scoring an average of 42 points a game. That’s the entire team, besides those three.

That’s the recent Raptors in a nutshell.  hey haven’t just been handicapped, they’ve been stripped of their big guns. They simply don’t have enough firepower to win games as it is. Lowry, Powell, and Boucher are just not going to score 70 points a night. They won’t.

Kudos to the fans for putting up with that.

Norman Powell and Kyle Lowry have been the saving grace

Over the past 10 games, Powell has been averaging 25 a night, shooting a ridiculous 53% from the field, 48% from three, and 92% from the line. In the past, a scoring night like that from Norm usually spelled victory for the Raps.

Last season the Raptors were 9-1 on nights where Norm scored 25 or more. This season, not so much.  Since the team was hit with COVID, Powell has had to produce 25% of the team’s nightly scoring. I shudder to think what the team would be on offense without him.

On top of stacking 35+ minute nights on his stubby 34-year-old legs, Lowry has been pulling out every trick he has to try and will this team to a win, but with no luck.

Part of why Raptors fans love Lowry so much is that he kills himself every night for his team and his city. He seems to care just a little bit more than everyone else. Toronto lovesthat about him.  Even in the face of impossible odds, Lowry will continue to pound the ball, dive, sacrifice his body on charges, hit the deck on tough finishes, and on and on it goes.

When the Raptors mounted a 30-point comeback to beat the Mavericks last season, it was on the back of Lowry’s never say die attitude.

That’s why it’s been so painful to watch him these past few games. It’s hard to watch a player so good and so beloved take these kinds of hits over and over and over again, but this time to no avail.

Kudos to the Raptors fans (and Kyle Lowry) for putting up with that.

Raptors fans, you are the MVPs of this week. The only way is up from here.  No matter what the rest of the season looks like the Raptors franchise can guarantee a more enjoyable experience than what March has turned out to be.

Kudos to you all.