The season’s first game for the Toronto Raptors could hardly have begun worse. The home team wasn’t scoring, and prize free-agent signing DeMarre Carroll went down hard under the basket late in Q1. However, DeMarre, like his team, got off the floor, dusted himself off, and ended up with a win.
Raptors fans could have been forgiven for thinking they were watching the first game of the pre-season, instead of the regular one. The team’s best players, DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, were dismal in the first half. DD missed his first seven field goal attempts and was five of 10 from his office, known to the rest of us as the free-throw line.