3 Former Raptors players having excellent starts to the season

The Toronto Raptors are off to a shaky start this season, although certainly not an unexpected start. They have played three playoff teams and are 1-2, which may seem decently impressive if you don't know that their lone win came over a Philadelphia 76ers team playing without Joel Embiid and Paul George.

It's not all doom and gloom for the Raptors, who have had some standout performances and have been significantly injured themselves; there are brighter days ahead. Yet while fans wait for the sun to rise, they have something happy they can cheer for around the league.

More than most fanbases, Raptors fans love to root for former players around the league. As the Toronto roster has turned over there are now a lot of them spread across the association, and a few of them are having surprisingly excellent starts to the year. Let's look at three alumni having a strong beginning.

No. 3: Kyle Lowry

The Philadelphia 76ers are off to a shaky start this season, playing three games without Joel Embiid and Paul George, forcing other players to step up. Perhaps unexpectedly, one of those players has been Kyle Lowry, who at 38 years of age is an extremely key player for a 76ers team with title aspirations.

Lowry has started two of the Sixers' three games this year and been one of their most reliable players. While Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. have been chucking up shots, Lowry has played defense, jumped into passing lanes, and been lights out from 3-point range. Through three games he is shooting 61.5 percent from deep, going 8-for-13 from long-range.

Every single player on the 76ers has a negative Box Plus-Minus on the season except for Kyle Lowry, who has been an impact player at both ends of the court. It's always a fun moment to cheer on the best player in franchise history.