A day after the trade deadline, it’s back to business for the Toronto Raptors.
Or should we say the new-look Raptors.
No longer with Norman Powell, who was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday, and also without Matt Thomas and Terence Davis, who were both dealt for second-round picks in separate transactions, the Raptors’ reworked roster will take the court for the first time Friday evening to face the Phoenix Suns at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sportsnet ONE.
Here’s a look at three things to watch for as you take in the game.
New Raptors debut
Unless you’ve gone out of your way to watch a lot of Portland Trail Blazers over the past few years — and we can’t blame you if you did, because Damian Lillard is destination viewing — you likely haven’t seen a lot of Gary Trent Jr. and Rodney Hood.
Therefore, Friday’s game should be of particular interest to fans because these new faces — the players who Norman Powell was traded for — will likely make their Raptors debuts.
As the old saying goes, first impressions are everything and this pair will have its opportunity to endear itself to the Raptors faithful. That won’t be a small task given how important Powell was to the Raptors, but at the very least a player like Hood is still a talented shooter who figures to be a more reliable option than the now-departed Thomas and Davis.
And in regard to Trent, he’s still only 22 and in the midst of a breakout season, averaging 15 points per game and shooting 39.7 per cent from three-point range. But beyond his numbers, Trent should become a popular player because his journey should resonate with fans as a former second-round pick who has done nothing but grind and strive to improve himself since entering the NBA in the 2018-19 season.
Here’s hoping both Trent and Hood have solid games and are able to showcase what they can bring to the team.
Time to prove their mettle
It’ll actually be kind of important that Trent and Hood come out of the game and play well in their maiden voyages with the Raptors because it’s go time for this team.
After the events of the deadline, with the Raptors opting to keep Kyle Lowry, it’s quite apparent the Raptors have no intention on tanking and will now need to try to rack up as many wins as possible to get themselves back into the playoff picture.
Currently 11th in the East and 1 1/2 games back of the Chicago Bulls for that 10th and final play-in tournament spot, the Raptors can get back into things; but they can’t afford to tread water any longer.
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Powell aside, the front office granted head coach Nick Nurse’s wish to give this group a shot to prove itself — now it has to go out and do just that.
The Raptors will be in tough against a very good Suns team, but Toronto will just have to find a way to succeed against an elite opponent.
Health and safety protocol rears its ugly head again
Granted, finding that success will be much easier said than done, particularly because the Raptors will be shorthanded.
The team announced that DeAndre’ Bembry and Paul Watson Jr. will miss Friday’s contest as they’re in the dreaded health and safety protocols.
That doesn’t necessarily mean either Bembry or Watson actually tested positive for COVID-19, but the team just recovered from a nine-game losing streak that was largely because of COVID protocols.
So fingers crossed this isn’t anything too serious and that no one else has to miss games. The Raptors really can’t afford to go through this again.
