The Toronto Raptors' schedule has been released.
Some years it feels like it takes forever for the full 82-game slate of matchups to be announced, but this year the summer was jam-packed with activity. From the NBA Draft and free agency to Summer League and the Paris Olympics, basketball fans have had plenty to talk about all summer.
Now it's time to talk about the year to come. All of the transactions and draft picks don't matter if the team doesn't win when the games start. How do things look for the Toronto Raptors? Let's process some instant reactions from the release of the schedule.
1. A Brutal Opening Stretch
The Toronto Raptors are no strangers to difficult starts to the NBA season, but the beginning of the Raptors' season is positively brutal. The first week for Toronto features four games against top playoff teams: the Cleveland Cavaliers for the home opener, then the latest super team in the Philadelphia 76ers, the best defense in the league last year in the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the best player in the world with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.
All of those teams won at least 47 games last season, and together they averaged 52 wins. They feature the last four MVP winners in Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic, as well as high-powered guards in Donovan Mitchell and Anthony Edwards.
In an interesting twist, the Raptors will face the Nuggets twice in their first eight games, not facing the 2023 champions again all season.
2. Christmas in New York
The Toronto Raptors do not play on Christmas Day - they only have twice in franchise history - but they do play at Madison Square Garden on December 23rd, and then have a road game in Memphis on December 26th. It's very possible the team spends Christmas Day in New York - perhaps the best option other than being home for the holidays.
3. Finals Rematch in January
It's always an honor to see NBA legends up close, and the Toronto Raptors will host Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on January 13th in a rematch of the 2019 Finals, when the Raptors took down Curry and company to win the franchise's first championship.
4. Soft Landing
Last season the Raptors had a catastrophic conclusion to the season, with a franchise-worst losing streak. This year they hope to be in the mix for a postseason berth heading into the final stretch, with a rising star in Scottie Barnes at the center of a strong team. Things might just be breaking for them to make a run in the final weeks.
The Raptors return home from a West Coast road trip in the middle of March and host the San Antonio Spurs, who were last in the Western Conference last season. They then get to play the Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets and Charlotte Hornets in succession, three teams who will all be trying to "Sagg for Flagg" this year.
After a game with Philadelphia to close out March, the Raptors then get the Portland Trail Blazers, Detroit Pistons, Nets (again) and Hornets (again), then finish on the road in Texas against the Dallas Mavericks and Spurs. That's two playoff teams and nine rebuilding teams in 11 games.
The exact details of the schedule will continue to reveal themselves in the coming days and weeks, and soon it will be time for Raptors basketball once again.