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Toronto Raptors Gameday HQ

DATE OPPONENT TIME Oct. 29 Atlanta 7:30 Nov. 1 at Orlando 7:00 Nov. 2 at Miami 6:00 Nov. 4 Oklahoma City 7:30 Nov. 5 at Boston 7:30 Nov. 7 Washington 7:30 Nov. 9 Philadelphia 7:00 Nov. 11 Orlando 7:30 Nov. 13 Chicago 8:00 Nov. 15 Utah 7:30 Nov. 19 Memphis 7:30 Nov. 21 Milwaukee 7:30 Nov. 22 at Cleveland 7:30 Nov. 24 Phoenix 7:30 Nov. 26 at Atlanta 7:30 Nov. 28 Dallas 7:30 Nov. 30 at Los Angeles 9:30 Dec. 2 at Sacramento 10:00 Dec. 3 at Utah 9:00 Dec. 5 Cleveland 7:30 Dec. 8 Denver 7:30 Dec. 9 at Cleveland 7:00 Dec. 12 Indiana 7:30 Dec. 14 at New York 7:30 Dec. 15 Orlando 7:30 Dec. 17 Brooklyn 8:00 Dec. 19 at Detroit 7:30 Dec. 21 New York 3:30 Dec. 22 at Chicago 8:00 Dec. 27 at Los Angeles 3:30 Dec. 28 at Denver 9:00 Dec. 30 at Portland 10:00 Jan. 2 at Golden State 10:30 Jan. 4 at Phoenix 8:00 Jan. 8 Charlotte 7:30 Jan. 10 Boston 7:30 Jan. 12 Detroit 7:30 Jan. 14 Philadelphia 7:30 Jan. 16 Atlanta 7:30 Jan. 18 New Orleans 3:30 Jan. 19 at Milwaukee 8:00 DATE OPPONENT TIME Jan. 21 at Memphis 8:00 Jan. 23 at Philadelphia 7:00 Jan. 25 Detroit 7:00 Jan. 27 at Indiana 7:00 Jan. 28 Sacramento 7:30 Jan. 30 at Brooklyn 7:30 Jan. 31 at Washington 7:00 Feb. 2 Milwaukee 7:30 Feb. 4 Brooklyn 7:30 Feb. 6 Los Angeles 7:30 Feb. 8 San Antonio 7:00 Feb. 11 Washington 7:30 Feb. 20 at Atlanta 7:30 Feb. 21 at Houston 8:00 Feb. 23 at New Orleans 8:00 Feb. 24 at Dallas 8:30 Feb. 27 Golden State 7:30 Feb. 28 at New York 7:30 Mar. 2 at Philadelphia 7:00 Mar. 4 Cleveland 7:30 Mar. 6 at Charlotte 7:00 Mar. 8 at Oklahoma City 7:00 Mar. 10 at San Antonio 8:30 Mar. 13 Miami 7:30 Mar. 15 Portland 7:00 Mar. 16 at Indiana 7:00 Mar. 18 Minnesota 7:30 Mar. 20 at Chicago 8:00 Mar. 22 New York 4:00 Mar. 24 at Detroit 7:30 Mar. 25 Chicago 7:30 Mar. 27 Los Angeles 7:30 Mar. 30 Houston 7:30 Apr. 1 at Minnesota 8:00 Apr. 3 at Brooklyn 7:30 Apr. 4 Boston 7:30 Apr. 8 at Charlotte 7:00 Apr. 10 at Orlando 7:00 Apr. 11 at Miami 7:30 Apr. 14 at Boston 7:30 Apr. 15 Charlotte 8:00 * All Times Eastern. who plays off the bench. More than anything TORONTO RAPTORS 2014-15 SCHEDULE else, Johnson wants to play defense, and that trait usually counts for a lot in the NBA. Vasquez doesn’t pile up the steals, but he has good size (6-6) on the perimeter, so he can make some trouble for the League’s bigger wing guards. Patterson can shoot, but he has good athletic ability and can make some trouble defensively on the inside. And though DeRozan is more interested in scoring, he will get after it on D and is able to create problems with his size and quickness. As a defense, the Raptors are certainly more sum of parts than individual defenders, which can go very far. Offense There were some last year who thought the team’s decision to trade away forward Rudy Gay was a huge mistake. A solid producer, Gay was part of a three-man group with DeRozan and Lowry that appeared to have a bright future. But the deal was the epitome of addition by subtraction. The loss of Gay and his at-times selfish ways allowed DeRozan to turn into a standout scorer and one of the League’s most dangerous players off the dribble. DeRozan isn’t going to make teams pay with his outside shot (he made only 30.5 percent of his three-point tries last year), but he is excellent on the move. He attacks the basket, can make the midrange jumper— particularly on the pull-up—and will get to the line (8.0 free throws/game in 2013-14). Lowry’s strong 2013-14 season earned him a four-year, $48 million contract to run the team for the near future. That’s good news, even though his numbers last year were perhaps artificially increased by his pending free agency. Lowry did a lot right last year, beginning with his strong, 3-to-1 assist-toturnover ratio. He shot well from three-point range and brought a physical toughness to the point guard spot. He and DeRozan worked well together last year and appear to be set for even bigger things this season. It will be interesting to see how Valanciunas develops in the middle. The third-year Lithuanian seven-footer has demonstrated the ability to make shots close to the hoop, a fact borne out by his 53.1 percent field goal success last year. But he must become more assertive inside and capable of facing the basket, too. He can hit a 10-footer, but he isn’t so sharp further out than that. And though he is almost seven feet tall, Valanciunas is 255 pounds, so it’s not like he’s going to crack heads inside. He’ll have to develop a better touch. And


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