That time off to rest his hand seems to have done Jonas Valanciunas some good. He's blocked 14 shots over the past five games (twice as many as anybody else), including a career-best seven against the mostly short, stocky and ground-bound Grizzlies. He's pulled in nearly three times more rebounds than any other teammate in that span (60, Bismack Biyombo, Powell and DeRozan have 23 – Valanciunas has 17 offensive rebounds alone), is tied for the team lead with six steals and has the best plus/minus.

Opponents have shot just 33.9% at the rim against him in his past six games, which is Mutombo-esque (small sample size alert). For the sake of comparison, Bismack Biyombo has allowed 50.7% shooting at the rim over the past 10 games (for the season, Biyombo has allowed 45.6% shooting at the rim, Valanciunas a poor 52.6%).

But lately, he's been great, which is another good sign as the playoffs near. The Raptors revolve around Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, but when Valanciunas is on, the team is extremely dangerous and hard to beat. Even moreso if he's also bringing it defensively.

Not going to point out that Valanciunas has barely played at all beside Luis Scola over the past three games and the correlation between that and his improved defence ... Oops.

NEW NORM-AL?

Where would the Raptors be without Norman Powell? That's becoming a regular question with each passing game. The rookie has been a late-breaking story this year, but make no mistake, one of the better stories of this season. He's now hit at least two three-pointers in five games in a row, shooting 13-for-24 in that span. He's also hit double-figures in scoring in each of those contests, after managing it just three times all season. He's also rebounding well and the five assists were a new wrinkle.

Powell will surely slow down a bit, but as the season winds down, he has given the Raptors a huge shot in the arm and a reason for confidence heading into the playoffs.

Over his past 10 games, Powell has averaged 10.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and shot 46.3% on three-pointers.

He has the team's fifth-best +/- in that stretch (Lowry, DeRozan, surprisingly, Jason Thompson and Valanciunas are ahead of him) and the fourth-best over the past five.

WAS THAT IT?

He says he wants to keep playing and has more guaranteed money coming his way, but there's a small chance that Friday's contest was Vince Carter's last against the Raptors.

He's made enough money to walk away and might figure enough is enough. Most likely he'll return next season, but if he doesn't, it was a solid finale. Carter scored 10 points and added six rebounds in 19 minutes. Vince started as a small forward in Toronto because of Doug Christie, became one of the NBA's best shooting guards and here he is, playing well as a stretch four for the depleted Grizzlies.

AROUND THE RIM

More reasons for optimism? DeMar DeRozan has had his struggles playing against the Grizzlies in the past, but was unstoppable in this one. Plus Lowry's shot returned (40% on threes, hit all four of his free throws), which might be the most important thing of all.

Patrick Patterson finally cooled off after a torrid run. Let's see where he goes from here.