BURNABY, B.C. — Never mind the light-hearted spectacle that was the Toronto Raptors Media Day on Monday. The serious, meaningful, who’s-looking-good and who-will-make-the-cut business of the basketball pre-season began in earnest on Tuesday as the Raptors’ training camp kicked off at Fortius Sport & Health in Burnaby, a suburb just east of Vancouver.
The Raptors will be bunkered down here all week, at a kind of camp retreat for pro athletes, and the week will culminate in the team’s first pre-season game, a matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers at Rogers Arena on Oct. 4. Here’s what we learned on Day 1.
Talking points
Coach Dwane Casey said after the first morning practice that one of the team’s key weaknesses at this stage is verbal. “We’ve got to do a better job of communicating,” he remarked.
Casey praised newcomers Luis Scola and Bismack Biyombo for their ability to communicate on the court. “Those two are our best talkers,” he said.
While Scola’s ability to communicate is less of a surprise — he’s a 35-year-old veteran of the game, after all — it’s a little unexpected to hear that about Biyombo, who is just 23, Casey admitted as much: “I wouldn’t have guessed it,” he said of Biyombo’s communication gifts.
It was the coaches in Charlotte who informed Casey of Biyombo’s poise, and the Raptors bench boss is expecting big things from the Congolese centre.
“He’s probably going to be the captain of our defence as far as guys that can go vertical, block shots, communicate,” said Casey.
Defence first
Last season, the need for a bolstered defence became clear — sometimes painfully so.
“We probably put too much emphasis on scoring,” Casey admitted on Tuesday.
Things are different this time around. Casey praised the team GM Masai Ujiri has put together for having a kind of balance.
“We can’t forget about scoring,” said Casey, who noted that DeMarre Carroll, Cory Joseph and Scola are all two-way players.
If things go as Casey plans, don’t expect to see the Raptors in the top four in offence. An attack that’s “middle of the pack” is what Casey is envisioning.
First impressions
“I’ve heard the atmosphere over here is crazy,” said Joseph after the Raptors’ first morning practice on Tuesday. “It’s my first time in Vancouver,” he added.
The 24-year-old Canadian spoke about the excitement he felt in joining his nation’s lone NBA team, and said he planned to continue with the championship mindset he’d acquired while with the Spurs in San Antonio.
It’s too early for Joseph to map out any meaningful differences between Raptors coach Casey and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, but Joseph gave his first impressions of his new bench boss: “You can tell that he’s a defensive coach,” he said. “Very defensive-minded, just like Pop was.”
Hoping success is contagious
Excitement over the Toronto Blue Jays’ fantastic results this season has swept the nation, and the Raptors have taken notice. “That’s what we’re hoping to do,” said Joseph when asked about the Jays’ success and the buzz they’ve generated across Canada. “They’re doing an amazing job.”
Anthony Bennett, meanwhile, admitted that he’s not much of a baseball fan, but noted that the fervour surrounding the team is hard to ignore.
“It’s kinda hard not to pay attention to them,” he said with a grin. “I support them.”
Feeling comfortable
Speaking of Bennett, the 22-year-old No. 1 overall pick from 2013 arrived at practice ready to relish the new opportunity he’s been given by the Raptors. He called it “an exciting experience,” and emphasized that above all he feels “comfortable.” Bennett feels healthy, too, and insists he isn’t worried about the pressure to make good on the once-enormous expectations placed upon him.
“It’s a learning process,” he said. “It’s gotta get better from here.”
Bennett is hoping to be less self-reflexive — to spend less time thinking about how he’s playing while he’s out on the court.
“He came out today with great energy,” said coach Casey of Bennett’s first practice.
Casey stressed that Bennett needs to relax and learn to enjoy the game.
“It’s a win-win situation for him.”
No cakewalk for first-timers
For rookie Norman Powell, a second-round pick in this year’s draft, the first day of NBA training camp was a bit gruelling.
“It’s been tough,” Powell told Sportsnet after the first morning practice. “Everybody’s out here going hard the first couple of practices here, everybody wants to show what they got. But it’s been fun, learning from the vets, watching, picking up on new things, and trying to get adjusted to the NBA playing style.”
