Toronto Raptors: Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby could return this week

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The losing streak continues.

On Sunday, the Toronto Raptors dropped their fifth straight game to the hands of the Chicago Bulls. The Raptors fall to 17-22 on the season with the loss, moving them to 11th in the Eastern Conference standings.

The good news? It appears as though help could be on the way.

MORE: Takeaways from Toronto's loss to Chicago

The Raptors have been without Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn and Patrick McCaw during this losing streak due to the NBA's Health and Safety Protocols. It's still unknown when each one of them will return, but it sounds like the Raptors are expecting them to be available soon.

"I would say later in the week we should have them all back," Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said on Sunday.

"I don't know in what capacity yet. I mean, 1-on-0 is still a ways away from being cleared, but it's kind of staggering. I think a couple guys were cleared yesterday. I think one or two more get cleared tomorrow and then one more after that and then there's still some time that needs to elapse from there."

The Raptors have a couple of days off following their loss to the Bulls, their next game coming on Wednesday, March 17 when they travel to Detroit to take on the Pistons. They then return to Tampa to host the Utah Jazz on Friday, March 19, followed by a matchup with the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Sunday, March 21.

At 17-22, the Raptors sit one game behind the Indiana Pacers (17-20) in ninth place and the Bulls (17-20) in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings with 32 games remaining in their schedule, not including the couple that were postponed prior to the All-Star break.

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Scott Rafferty is a Senior NBA Editor for The Sporting News