Small programming note: Our aim for this year is to have a pre-game post up one-to-two hours before tip-off, in supplement to the normal Gameday posts. Whether it’s me reporting from the arena, or someone collecting good quotes from the day, or whatever, you should be able to get a quick roundup of the day’s news in this space before each game. Some days, like for the opener, there will be actual meaningful news. Some days, it will be like this.
Amir the Enemy
Amir Johnson ranks fourth all time in games played as a member of the Toronto Raptors. He was a part of the franchise for six seasons and became a major part of the team’s identity, and of the city itself. He’s greatly missed now that he’s a member of the Boston Celtics, the recipient of a two-year, $24-million contract this offseason. DeMar DeRozan, who to this point had spent his entire career alongside the Zombie Walk enthusiast, may be feeling it the most.
“Oh yeah, that sucks” – DeMar DeRozan when asked about Amir Johnson’s absence in Raptors’ locker room.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) October 26, 2015
More DeMar on Amir: “You could be having worst day of your life but if he call you or come over he is going to brighten your day some way.” — Mike Ganter (@Mike_Ganter) October 30, 2015
It’s probably going to be a little awkward for DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, and Jonas Valanciunas to stand opposite Johnson, seeing him in opposing colors. And if you expected some friendly, light-hearted trash talk as a result, that won’t be the case – the Raptors are going to try to keep things somewhat serious against their friend, lest the slippery slope see them slide too far.
DeMar DeRozan has changed his mind. Will no longer trash talk Amir. Concerned it will get too funny. Lowry too will abstain.
— Mike Ganter (@Mike_Ganter) October 30, 2015
“We miss Amir,” head coach Dwane Casey said Friday.
“Tonight he’ll be the enemy. But I love Amir.”
The Celtics are good
While the Atlantic Division has been a horror show the last several seasons, it doesn’t stand to be quite as easy this time around. The 76ers are still the 76ers and the Nets are in for a tough go, but the Knicks should be moderately better with some youth and a healthy Carmelo Anthony, and Friday’s opponent, the Boston Celtics, are firmly on the upswing. You can read more about the matchup in the Gameday post, but rest assured any fear expressed within is backed up by Casey.
“I wish they weren’t in our division,” Casey said. “Because last year you could just see, each time we played them you knew how much they’ve improved.”
Starting Lineups/Injuries
There doesn’t appear to be any news on this front. Both teams are healthy, and Casey was fairly clear earlier in the week that he didn’t intend to change his starting lineup game-to-game. So despite a strong bounce-back off the bench for Patrick Patterson and a scoreless opener for Luis Scola (he grabbed eight rebounds), the Scola-Valanciunas frontcourt is likely to get another look. And it makes more sense against Boston than it did against Indiana, as they’ll start two traditional bigs in David Lee and Tyler Zeller.
Strong opening night ratings
With the Toronto Blue Jays eliminated from the postseason (I still can’t muster much enthusiasm for the World Series), Toronto FC bounced from the playoffs, and the Toronto Maple Leafs a ludicrous distance from playoff contention, the Raptors have an opportunity to recapture the city’s attention over the next several months. A hot start to the season could work wonders to that end, and their opening-night victory was a good first step, taking place in front of far more eyeballs than last year’s opener.
Audience for the Raptors opener on TSN was up 24% compared to last season’s opener @Raptors #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/UqCQNPLhWe — TSN PR (@TSN_PR) October 30, 2015
Raptors905 confirm acquisition of Sim Bhullar, trade Earl Clark
We covered this off late last night in the “report” stage, but Raptors905 have acquired Canadian center Sim Bhullar from the Reno Bighorns for Ricky Ledo.
The team announced the deal Friday while also revealing they’ve dealt the rights to Earl Clark to the Bakersfield Jam for a 2016 third-round pick. Clark is a fringe NBA player with 261 games of experience over six seasons with six teams and would be an intriguing D-League name, if he opts to play there and forgo more lucrative overseas opportunities.
The team also shuffled around in the draft some, dealing Nolan Smith in the process.
Maine Red Claws acquire rights to Nolan Smith and No 11 overall pick from Raptors 905 for Maine's 1st and 2nd rd picks in tomorrow's draft
— Chris Reichert (@Chris_Reichert) October 30, 2015
RIP Grantland
There’s not a really a proper place on the site for something like this, but today’s news that Grantland will cease publication is a big hit to the sports community. There are so many immensely talented people who wrote there, really pushing the discourse of sport to a higher level. They had a handful of terrific NBA writers, but Zach Lowe in particular is deserving of appreciation for his work over the last few years. There’s not a better basketball writer in existence.
Photo courtesy @Raptors
