The Raptors’ preseason is here!

It’s hard to believe we’ve finally made it through the summer and tonight, the first preseason game of 2026-2027 season tips off for the Toronto Raptors. As is customary, it is one of two NBA Canada Series games, tonight being hosted by Quebec City. This has been a great tradition since 2012, allowing more of the country to be able to watch Canada’s team in person. Previous hosts have included Ottawa, Calgary, Montreal, Edmonton, and Winnipeg, but this will be the first held in Centre Vidéotron.

The new-look Miami Heat has travelled to face them, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Klay Thompson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bobby Portis Jr. having joined over the summer.

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While preseason games are often about getting organized and making those final roster decisions, we can hope to get a bit of a look at Kawhi, Scottie, Giannis and Bam, a harbinger of what could be an excellent matchup throughout the season.

Miami’s size will undoubtedly be a factor. Their frontcourt includes a near-seven-foot Nick Richards and Giannis, 6’10” Nikola Jovic, and Bam Adebayo and Bobby Portis Jr. who are both 6′ 9″ and over 250 pounds. This will be advantageous on both ends of the court, as defensively their size and physicality will be an asset rebounding, but they can also play bully-ball at the other end of the court. The other major change to their roster, adding a pair of excellent veteran shooters in Hardaway Jr. and Thompson mean that if anyone gets jammed up in the paint, there will be one or both of them set from outside the arc and ready to shoot.

Toronto won’t have the size advantage, but can rely on the defensive prowess of Scottie Barnes, Kawhi Leonard, and Collin Murray-Boyles. While undersized, their wingspans and athleticism allow all of them to guard guys bigger than them. Kawhi has already proven he can make life difficult for Giannis, and CMB seems to love to play as an undersized center. The wing defence will need to be on a string tonight to shut down the options outside of the paint. Ja’Kobe Walter, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley will all have to be on top of closeouts and shut down shooting…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/raptors-preseason-140000715.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-03 14:00:00

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