Thursday, March 28, 2024

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Raptors ready to get going

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The Blue Jays season is finished, the Leafs regular season is a little over a week away, and the Toronto Raptors are ready for training camp. Camp opens tomorrow in Toronto before shifting to Vancouver later in the week and expectations are high for the defending Atlantic division titlists.

It’s almost as if this game was played just yesterday. The hard feelings still exist, and there’s a burning desire to improve.

Raptors forward/guard DeMar DeRozan: “You can’t get tired. No more excuses, you can’t do none of this no more. You’re not young guys, you play at a high level. There’s no more excuses.”

Raptors guard Kyle Lowry: “I expect DeMar to play hurt. Greivis to be the swagger. J.V. to get better. I hold my teammates accountable. At the end of the day we have to play for each other.”

The new contract Lowry signed back in July makes him the highest paid Raptor this season at $12 million dollars. DeRozan isn’t far behind at $10.1 million.

General Manager Masai Ujiri believes they’re worth every penny: “Those guys have shown last year, they can be aggressive, they can go out there and compete with the better teams and players in the NBA. So this year is no different and I think Kyle leads the way, along with DeMar.”

Over the summer, Terrence Ross says he gained 15 pounds of muscle. Jonas Valancuinas worked on getting faster. And Greivis Vasquez says he’s never been healthier going into an NBA training camp.

Last season’s 48 wins were the most in franchise history, and if all their hard work pays off, that number could improve too.

Head Coach Dwane Casey: “Are we gonna’ be an improved team? Yes. Whatever that is, that’s not my job to put a number on it. My job is to get back and get running again and get that chip on our shoulder.”

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