Grading every Toronto Raptors player after All-Star break ends

The Toronto Raptors started the second part of the 2022-23 season off well, taking down the New Orleans Pelicans without Fred VanVleet in the lineup. Nick Nurse and Masai Ujiri seem to be very bullish on this team’s potential despite such a rocky start.

Toronto came into the season with expectations of improving upon a 48-win season that helped them land the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. With 31 losses already on the ledger, achieving that goal is going to be incredibly difficult for the Raptors to achieve.

The Raptors’ biggest issue, at least prior to the acquisition of Jakob Poeltl which fundamentally changed how this team operates, was inconsistency. Fans never knew if the team was going to score 130 points or give up the same amount.

The Raptors have been all over the place this season, leading to mixed reviews on the total body of work. As the final stretch of the season starts, let’s look back on the year that was (or has been) and figure out which players have earned exemplary grades so far.

Grading all Toronto Raptors players after All-Star Break.

Guards:

Gary Trent Jr: A-

Fred VanVleet: B

Jeff Dowtin Jr: C

Malachi Flynn: C-

Dalano Banton: D+

Trent has been everything Toronto could have hoped he would have been after signing a three-year contract. Be it as a starter or bench player, Trent has overcome a slow start and proven that he is deserving of a contract that approaches nine figures. Given his age, he has quickly become one of the most underrated guards in the East.

VanVleet is the lightning rod that will get Raptors Twitter in a frenzy at the slightest mention. While he has had some extremely impressive offensive performances in the last few weeks, the total body of work he has put together this season is a step down from what he did last year.

Fred VanVleet hasn’t been amazing for the Toronto Raptors.

The fact that Dowtin received rotation time over Flynn and Banton in a game where VanVleet sat out speaks volumes to how much momentum those two draft picks have blown. Flynn’s inefficiency has not improved, and Banton is looking more like a G League player than an NBA rotation piece.

This isn’t to diminish what Dowtin has done, however. His speedy style of play and constant effort has supplanted two different draft picks in the span of just a few months. He may earn himself a legitimate pro contract by the time this season is in the books.