Blink and you missed the NBA off-season. The Toronto Raptors are back to dribbling basketballs once again.
The Raptors are no longer the NBA defending champions. The team didn't even get a Christmas Day game.
Nick Nurse is still the coach with Kyle Lowry as the team leader.
The Raptors went from traveling in 3 countries for a preseason to traveling fewer than 600 miles to Charlotte. Toronto will start out playing its home games in their temporary home at Amalie Arena in Tampa.
The Toronto Raptors start their season in Tampa against the New Orleans Pelicans tomorrow night.
In the highly short NBA off-season, the Toronto Raptors did re-sign Fred Van Vleet and Montréal's Chris Boucher. Boucher will get a lot more playing time since the team suffered significant off-season losses on the tall end of their roster. Serge Ibaka (LA Clippers) and Marc Gasol (LA Lakers) left for warmer climes. Ibaka reunites with Kawhi Leonard and Gasol with Danny Green, all from the Toronto Raptors NBA championship team in 2019.
The Raptors brought in Aron Baynes from Phoenix. Baynes won a NBA championship in 2014 with San Antonio. The key is that Baynes 2-year deal for $14.3 million is the second year is not guaranteed. Giannis Antetokounmpo was on Toronto's wish list until he signed a 5-year supermax extension with Milwaukee.
Toronto just signed forward OG Anunoby to a 4-year contract extension worth a reported $72 million.
2020 Toronto Raptors NBA preseason schedule
Toronto Raptors to play home games in Tampa in 2020-2021
The Toronto Raptors will once again split their games between TSN and Rogers Sportsnet.
The Raptors have dates on U.S. national TV. The ESPN telecasts feature the Raptors in Brooklyn on February 5 and in Miami on February 24. The TNT broadcasts are in Milwaukee on February 18 and Boston on March 4. The NBA TV dates have the Raptors in New Orleans on January 2, hosting Charlotte on January 16, and at Indiana on January 24. These are only the first-half telecasts. We would point out that there is only a single home game on the list, but then again, there are no games in Canada.
A limited number of fans can attend Toronto Raptors games in Tampa. The reduced capacity stands at 3,800 with significant rules in place. The Canadian snowbirds might be tempted to take in some games.
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The NBA schedule is 72 games instead of the regular 82-game schedule. The first-half schedule runs through March 5, 2021. The league will take a break and restart March 11. The second-half schedule goes until May 16 and will be drawn up later.
logo credit: Toronto Raptors/NBA
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