The Toronto Raptors begin the second season this afternoon, tipping off at the Air Canada Centre against Paul Pierce and the Washington Wizards. The visitors enjoy considerably more NBA experience as players than the Raps, but have about the same amount as a team. Toronto is younger and deeper; whether those assets will prove sufficient to bring victory in this series remains to be seen.
Washington depends on its starters to an alarming degree, but they are a talented group, so the pain is mitigated. Pierce is a nemesis; the man who blocked Kyle Lowry’s final shot in Game 7 last year has been trash-talking about our team.