The Toronto Raptors schedule has was released.
Some years it feels like we have to wait forever for the full 82-game schedule to be announced, but this year it was a busy summer. From the NBA Draft to free agency to Summer League to the Paris Olympics, basketball fans had plenty to talk about all summer long.
Now it’s time to talk about the year ahead. All the trades and draft picks mean nothing if the team isn’t winning when the games start. How do things look for the Toronto Raptors? Let’s take a look at some instant reactions to the schedule release.
The Toronto Raptors are no strangers to rough starts to the NBA season, but the Raptors’ start to the season has been downright brutal. Week 1 for Toronto features four games against the best teams in the playoffs: the Cleveland Cavaliers in the home opener, then the latest super team, the Philadelphia 76ers, the league’s best defense last year, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the best player in the world in Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.
All of these teams won at least 47 games last season, and they averaged 52 wins overall. They feature the last four MVP winners, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, as well as high-powered shooting guards like Donovan Mitchell and Anthony Edwards.
In an interesting twist, the Raptors will face the Nuggets twice in their first eight games, without facing the 2023 champions again all season.
The Toronto Raptors aren’t playing on Christmas Day (they’ve only done so twice in franchise history), but they do play at Madison Square Garden on December 23 and then play a road game in Memphis on December 26. It’s very possible the team will spend Christmas Day in New York, which may be the best option short of staying home for the holiday.
It’s always an honor to see NBA legends up close, and the Toronto Raptors will host Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Jan. 13 in a rematch of the 2019 Finals, when the Raptors beat Curry and company to win the franchise’s first championship.
Last season, the Raptors had a disastrous end to the season, with the worst losing streak in franchise history. This year, they’re hoping to be in contention for a playoff spot heading into the final stretch, with a rising star in Scottie Barnes at the center of a strong team. Things could be changing for them to make a strong run in the final weeks.
The Raptors return home from a West Coast road trip in mid-March and host the San Antonio Spurs, who finished last in the Western Conference last season. They will then face the Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets, three teams that will all be trying to “Sagg for Flagg” this year.
After a game against Philadelphia to end March, the Raptors will then host the Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons, Nets (again) and Hornets (again), then finish on the road in Texas against the Dallas Mavericks and Spurs. That’s two playoff teams and nine rebuilding teams in 11 games.
Exact schedule details will continue to be revealed in the days and weeks to come, and soon it will be time for Raptors basketball once again.
