Raptors Excited For “Electric” Season Opening | The Canadian News

TORONTO – Nick Nurse says he can always feel a buzz in the air a couple of days after a Raptors home game in Toronto, a pleasant buzz the coach hasn’t felt in nearly two years.

The Raptors host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday to kick off a season that is different in many ways. Longtime leader Kyle Lowry is gone. There is no superstar like Kawhi Leonard. And the team is back on this side of the border, home, finally, after COVID-19 protocols forced the Raptors to call Tampa, Florida “home” last season.

He was a poor substitute for home.

The key on Wednesday, Nurse said, is not letting the excitement of the moment get the best of your team.

“I love it,” Nurse said Monday of the pregame energy. “You can already feel it in the streets, you know?

“Obviously it’s going to be electric at (Scotiabank Arena). Everyone will probably realize that the fans are going to be very excited. And I think from my seat, we have to make sure that we use a little bit of that electricity, but we don’t get carried away by ourselves … we play with some kind of composure and … we focus on the basketball part. that’s for sure. “

The Raptors last played a regular season game at Scotiabank Arena on February 28, 2020, a forgettable loss to Charlotte, and then the global pandemic shut down the sporting world and ultimately sent the Raptors to Tampa. Last season was one of the worst in franchise history, with a COVID-19 outbreak in March that saw them jump up the Eastern Conference standings. Toronto finished 12th in the East (27-45).

Only four players, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby and Chris Boucher, remain on that list.

Lowry left for Miami on a sign-and-trade deal last offseason. The Raptors lost Leonard in free agency in 2019.

But if expectations for this rebuilding of Toronto’s roster are low for this season, VanVleet never got the memo.

“The goal is to win a championship every year,” VanVleet said. “I’m certainly not going to lower my standards. I don’t care who’s on the team. “

VanVleet, who will take on much of the leadership burden from Lowry, recounted a quote he had read.

“’There are things that have never been done (before) every day,’” he said. “I am up to the challenge, I think the team is ready for the challenge. We have a young, hungry group looking to prove themselves. “

Certainly young. While veteran guard Goran Dragic, who came to Toronto through the deal that sent Lowry to Miami, is the oldest at 35, team leaders VanVleet and Siakam are just 27. Anunoby, whose excellent preseason hinted he’s ready for a spectacular year, he is only 24 years old. Energetic rookie Scottie Barnes, selected by Toronto with the fourth pick in the draft, is just 20 years old.

“(I’ll keep) bringing that young energy to that locker room every day and I’ll try to keep having fun no matter what it is,” said Barnes, who quickly became a fan favorite of the Raptors.

“I know it’s going to be a long season, something I’ve never been through before, but I keep trying to bring in that positive energy. If people are tired, I have those young legs, just keep running, it takes the pressure off of them so I can throw the ball to the ground or I just make easy transition cubes that help us maintain leadership and things like that. So that’s exactly what I plan to do. “

Add in young, dynamic players like Precious Achiuwa and Toronto native Dalano Banton and the Raptors will be fun to watch at least. They are long and athletic and can last for days.

“I guess it’s a little different, more wings this year,” Anunoby said. “We changed more stocks this year, they are all interchangeable now, we all learn in each place. They make sure everyone knows everything, we haven’t done that in the past. Everyone can lift the ball. “

The Raptors fell from second in the NBA in points allowed per 100 possessions to 15th last season. Rebuilding the roster – Barnes, as one example, is stubborn on the defensive end – lends itself to better defense this season.

“We have a lot more ability to look people in the eye and protect them this year, whether they are young or not, we just got a lot better matchmaking versatility and a lot more bodies that can go out and look people in the eye,” he said. the nurse.

Whether or not the newness of this group has increased Nurse’s workload, she is enjoying it.

“This group is a lot of fun,” he said. “We are doing a lot of different things. I think that’s always fun too. “

Anunoby said the chemistry between the team is already excellent after a season of COVID-19 restrictions that limited what they could do together.

“It translates (soil chemistry),” Anunoby said. “We also liked each other last year. But just because of all the protocols, we couldn’t go to dinner. We couldn’t hang out outside of practice.

“We have had dinners and stuff. It was fun. It’s nice to have lighter rules. I think it’s just a good group of guys. Everyone gets along. Nobody is an idiot. “

The Raptors will have a full house at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday after they received a green light from the Ontario government to increase their capacity. Fans must show proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test upon entry.

This Canadian Press report was first published on October 18, 2021.