Toronto Raptors Heat Check Vol.1: The marathon continues

In the first edition of the ‘Toronto Raptors Heat Check’, we breakdown takeaways from the  Raptors’ three scrimmages

After nearly 200 days the Toronto Raptors have returned to action. It sounds good to say that, doesn’t it?

The Raptors tip-offed their pre-restart scrimmages against Houston, followed by meetings with Portland and Phoenix.

All three contests served as an opportunity to see where everyone was at fitness-wise and experiment with different lineups. However, it’s important to take what you’ve seen in the scrimmage games with a grain of salt.

NBA players are scrutinized daily, but after having an offseason-sized stoppage dropped on them due to COVID-19 it’s only fair we’re a bit lenient.

The Toronto Raptors, like most NBA teams, were at intriguing crossroads when it came to the pre-restart scrimmages.

On one hand, it’s a great opportunity to ease guys into game action while on the other, you can’t not take the games seriously.

Once the final eight regular-season games begin, the Raptors can’t afford to be playing catchup. The last thing the team needs is to start cold and potentially being 0-2 or even 0-3.

Sure, there will be some growing pains because of the long stoppage. However, the ability of teams to bounceback will quickly cause the contenders and pretenders to emerge.

Toronto has perhaps the most to prove when it comes to the NBA’s restart. The defending NBA Champions have a Kyle Lowry sized chip on their shoulder, wanting to show the league they can win another championship.

With the “regular season” looming, it’s time to break down some takeaways from the Toronto Raptors’ three scrimmage games.