The Toronto Raptors are back for real starting tonight with the home opener at Scotiabank Arena against the Washington Wizards.
February 28, 2020 was the day of the last home regular season game on Canadian soil.
This is a very different team from the one that was in Canada and had a rough 2020-2021 season in Tampa.
Kyle Lowry is gone. Gone as in signed with the Miami Heat. Lowry will be back in their colours to Toronto on February 3.
Lowry technically went in a sign-and-trade deal where the Raptors received guard Goran Dragić and forward Precious Achiuwa. Toronto re-signed Gary Trent Jr. and Khem Birch.
OG Anunoby, Chris Boucher, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet are still on the Toronto Raptors. They are the last players from the 2019 NBA Championship and the only players on the team who have played in Toronto.
The free agency additions are: Ishmail Wainright, Justin Champagnie, Sam Dekker, Isaac Bonga, and Svi Mykhailiuk.
Losing so badly means a high draft pick, who was power forward Scottie Barnes from Florida State with the #4 pick. The Raptors drafted a Canadian-born player for the first time with point guard Dalano Banton from Nebraska with the #46 pick. The #47 pick also went to Toronto: point guard David Johnson from Louisville.
Paul Watson, Rodney Hood, DeAndre' Bembry, and Aron Baynes are no longer with the Raptors.
2021 Toronto Raptors NBA preseason schedule
The NBA will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its first game on November 1. The league, then known as the BAA, had its first-ever game between the New York Knicks and Toronto Huskies at Maple Leaf Gardens.
The NBA, in its lack of wisdom, has the teams playing that night but not in Toronto.
2020-2021 Toronto Raptors season wrapup
2020 Toronto Raptors NBA preview
The Raptors have said their entire roster is fully vaccinated. Opposing players who haven't received their COVID-19 vaccine shots will still be allowed to enter Canada and play at Scotiabank Arena. They will qualify under a "National Interest Exemption": the players will have to test and their movements limited to their team hotel and arena, all while wearing masks.
Ontario opened indoor capacity to 100% early on October 9 so that applied to the final home preseason game and the regular season.
Toronto Raptors to play home games in Tampa in 2020-2021
🥲♥️🎙Sad to say goodbye today to my friends at CTV and TSN but so excited for my next chapter which will be as amazing the last. Thank you. Had the time of my life. Cheers🇨🇦👊
— Rod Black 🇨🇦 (@RodBlackTSN) October 14, 2021
Rogers Sportsnet and TSN split the Toronto Raptors games. Matt Devlin calls Raptors games on both outlets. Jack Armstrong is the TSN analyst. Alvin Williams takes over from Leo Rautins as the lead analyst on Sportsnet. Rautins had been the analyst for the entire Raptors run.
Rautins will still be on TSN as part of the studio show. Rod Black has been the host for Toronto Raptors games on TSN. Black announced his sudden departure from TSN less than a week ago.
Amy Audibert is the new sideline reporter for Sportsnet.
The team's U.S. TV presence has sharply declined: the Raptors are on ESPN on January 21 in Washington. TNT will have the Kyle Lowry return game on February 3. The team will get some NBA Network telecasts.
75 years ago, Toronto hosted the NBA’s first-ever game. This year, TIFF and @NBACanada celebrate this anniversary.#FilmsForFans created with @OntarioLottery, features five shorts from Canadian filmmakers saluting Canada’s history with the league. #TIFF21 https://t.co/K8sZBzydom pic.twitter.com/Fsm6bh3107
— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) August 11, 2021
TIFF celebrated that 75th anniversary with NBA Films For Fans, a collection of 5 short films (one for each player on the court) from Canadian filmmakers and basketball fans Romeo Candido, Shawn Gerrard, Kat Jayme, Thyrone Tommy, and S.M. Turrell.
CanadianCrossing.com NBA coverage
Even without several key players from the 2019 NBA World Champions team (remember them), the Raptors will likely do better with a home in Toronto and back to a semi-normal world.
This is a team, even without Kyle Lowry, that will do better than 27-45 with a 1-13 March and a season-ending 7 game losing streak.
logo credit: Toronto Raptors
Twitter captures: @RodBlackTSN; @TIFF_net
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