The Raptors stumbled out of the gate to begin the 2021-22 NBA season — “we didn’t know who we were,” has been coach Nick Nurse’s near constant pre-season refrain — so they hope continuity and the hard lessons learned allows them to avoid another slow start.
It had better because the schedule is not kind.
Cleveland to open the season, three road games in four nights (Brooklyn and two in Miami), two against Philadelphia and then Atlanta; it’s an Eastern Conference gauntlet they must run.
“We saw that last year,” Pascal Siakam said. “The East has gotten better and it’s going to be hard so all those games are super important.