Toronto Raptors

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors go from a big team to a small team faster than maybe any other team in the NBA. When they start Jakob Poeltl they're huge. When Poeltl exits the lineup (and with Mo Bamba recently released) the Raptors immediately shrink to a squad without a single player taller than 6-foot-9. Even the Hornets, without their gargantuan rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner, can pivot to Moussa Diabate if they so choose.

Peas are as polarizing as they are populous, with people's opinions on the vegetable often boiling down to one thing: perspective. My wife, for instance, loathes the voluminous green bulbs because of the taste and texture, which "feels like pimples popping in your mouth," and the fact that she hardly ate them growing up, as her mom didn't like them either.

We're back for the second week of the brand new series of Top Ten Raptors Plays of the Week. Let's get into it, as this week's games covered five matchups that went from the Trail Blazers game last Tuesday to obviously last night's showdown against the New York Knicks.

Welcome to a new weekly series where we go over 10 plays that stood out for the Toronto Raptors over the course of a week. The idea is to tell the story of the week in plays. Not just what looked the best, but also what made the most narrative impact. Our first week starts with an extension, as we began with the Cleveland Cavaliers game, from Monday, November 24 and concluded with the New York Knicks game on Dec. 30

Jakob Poeltl and RJ Barrett have been stellar in their roles to start the year. Both have been efficient and a critical part of the team's early-season success. Poeltlis shooting a mind-boggling 73.3% from the field and helps initiate the offense with rock-solid screens. Barretthas continued to thrive as a crucial offensive option in the team pecking order, putting up almost 20 points (19.4) per game on quality efficiency.

Second seed in the Eastern Conference and atop their Atlantic Division, the Toronto Raptors have been absolutely bulldozing through their opposition as of late, boasting a superb 9-1 record in their last 10 contests. The Raps have a win percentage of 66.7 percent, beating their opponents by an average point differential of +5.0, riding an ongoing five-game winning streak, and a 10-5 record overall in the East landscape.

The 25-year-old Hoggard spent Summer League with the New Orleans Pelicans, following five years in college. Hoggard played four years under Tom Izzo at Michigan State before transferring to Vanderbilt for his final collegiate season. In his four years at Michigan State, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound guard averaged 8.6 points, 4.6 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 0.9 steals while shooting 41.0 per cent from the field, 30.3 per cent from distance, and 74.7 per cent from the charity stripe.