The Toronto Raptors get the honor of tipping off the 2016-17 NBA season with the first exhibition game of the four-week slate. It’s finally time, at long last, to watch basketball again. And yes, it counts, even if it’s just preseason, because my Shammgod I’ve been thirsty for some ball.
The Raptors also get the esteemed honor of taking the first crack at the Golden State Warriors, the would-be defending champions who collapsed but found a human regroup in the form of Kevin Durant this summer. Out went “Literally Terrence Ross” Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut, in came Durant and Zaza Pachulia, and somehow expectations coming off of a 73-win season have risen even higher. It’s championship or bust for Durant, Steph Curry, Draymond Green and company, who may be on the edge of having expended all the goodwill their aesthetically pleasing style of play creates. That might be OK, too, though – for as likeable as the Warriors can still be, I find the idea of this group donning the black hat to be pretty enticing. But I’ve always been the type to cheer the rudos.
As for the Raptors, well, it’s here. We know mostly what to expect at this point, but it’ll be nice to see the guys out on the court. That’s especially true for those vying for rotation minutes or the 15th roster spot, and with three games in five nights, the expectation should be that minutes will be distributed pretty evenly early on. If you’re hoping to see some new scheme changes or wrinkles, it might be a few days too early for that still – the Raptors sound confident that they’re ahead of last season’s progress in camp, and it’s their second year with a new system, but they’ll likely keep things simple the first time out.
And yeah, this is a long preamble for a preseason game. But we’ve gotta get our preseason reps in, too.
The game tips off at 7:30 p.m (Eastern). on TSN. Oh, and it’s taking place in Vancouver, which is always cool.
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To help set the stage, I reached out to my former tag-team partner at theScore, Joseph Casciaro.
Blake Murphy: The Raptors open the NBA preseason slate against the Warriors in what’s very obviously an NBA Finals preview. Do you think the Raptors will try anything out to specifically slow the Warriors’ offense in the league’s first look at it, or is this the typical first preseason game where everyone just gets their stuff in and what happens happens?
Joseph Casciaro: As entertaining as it would be to see Casey tinker with some Warriors-tailored schemes, I definitely think it’s more of the latter than the former. See guys in game-action that isn’t a scrimmage, give Vancouver a bit of a show, and start implementing your own sets and systems.
Blake Murphy: Is there even an “anything” you can try against the Warriors? Switch everything on the perimeter, get a rim protector, and pray? Basically, be Utah, then also find a way to score on them? Help me out here, Cash.
Joseph Casciaro: I wish I could, but I just don’t see what there is to try that could work against this team for 48 minutes. The Warriors can probably run a functional pick-and-roll with any combination from their new and improved Death Lineup, and will field – court, whatever – a historically good team even when one of KD or Steph sits.
Blake Murphy: The (likely) absence of DeMarre Carroll could present an opportunity for the wings and forwards trying out for the 15th roster spot. Who do you like from that group, and what are you looking for from them if they get time in these exhibition games?
Joseph Casciaro: Everyone wants to see Heslip shoot the lights out and nab a roster spot, but I’m equally interested in what Jarrod Uthoff can bring during the pre-season. He put up some impressive numbers at Iowa, can flat out score, has legit NBA size, and can probably log time at either forward position. I’m not saying he’s going to set the world on fire, but if we’re talking about guys who can fill a role as the 15th man, Uthoff has to be in the mix.
Blake Murphy: The Warriors, you’ll recall, had a 3-1 lea…is this joke dead now that the offseason is officially over, or are we still making it?
Joseph Casciaro: Don’t let the offseason officially coming to an end distract you from the fact that the Golden State Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, Blake. Don’t ever let it distract you.
Blake Murphy: Do you expect any sort of peaceful protest from the two sides? The Raptors were outspoken on media day about using their platform, but they were unspecific (understandably), and it’s a preseason game in Vancouver. I’m expecting a few Raptors to kneel, but I’d understand either way here. I don’t know what to make of the Warriors on that front.
Joseph Casciaro: I thought all of the Raptors who spoke on the matter did so thoughtfully and eloquently on Monday, and like you, wouldn’t be surprised to see a few knees come Saturday night. At first I thought that the game being in Vancouver might prevent that, but if players are intent on using their platforms, there will surely be eyes on the league’s first preseason game, which just so happens to include the Warriors.
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Raptors updates
The Raptors haven’t given a firm update on whether or not Carroll will play, but considering he’s not 100 percent yet (even though he practiced in full this week), I don’t really see the point in getting him on the floor in the opener. Delon Wright also remains sidelined.
We’re reaching a bit with assumptions here in a preseason opener, but here’s a best guess at the rotation for Saturday:
PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, Fred VanVleet
SG: Norman Powell, Terrence Ross, Brady Heslip, Drew Crawford
SF: DeMar DeRozan, Bruno Caboclo, E.J. Singler
PF: Jared Sullinger, Patrick Patterson, Pascal Siakam, Jarrod Uthoff
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Lucas Nogueira, Jakob Poeltl, Yanick Moreira
Heslip has been seeing some time at the one, Ross/Powell/DeRozan are largely interchangeable as wings if Carroll sits, Uthoff could play the three some, and Crawford can fit a few places. Again, it’s a bit up in the air, being a preseason opener and all. Head coach Dwane Casey could opt to play his set guys just a few minutes and basically turn the 604 into a 905.
Warriors updates
It’s even tougher to guess here, with the Warriors not owing a home-country fanbase anything in terms of star minutes. Head coach Steve Kerr did say, however, that everyone will play (likely meaning the key guys, not all 20 names in camp). I’m not sure you could make a bad five-man lineup out of this roster, anyway, and even if the stars are limited, I’m excited to see pre-draft favorite Patrick McCaw build on a strong Summer League.
PG: Steph Curry, Shaun Livingston, Phil Pressey, Elliot Williams
SG: Klay Thompson, Ian Clark, Patrick McCaw, Cameron Jones
SF: Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala, Elgin Cook, Scott Wood
PF: Draymond Green, David West, James Michael McAdoo, Kevon Looney
C: Zaza Pachulia, Anderson Varejao, JaVale McGee, Damian Jones
The line
You’re not gonna believe this, but the line for the preseason opener on a neutral site is off the board. If you’ve come here for a hard-hitting take on what might happen in Game -7 of 82, well, sorry to disappoint. Let’s all just be happy to have something to watch and analyze again.
