QUEBEC CITY — The plan is that Kawhi Leonard can get them over the top; that one of the great two-way players in NBA history has enough games left in him at age 35 to elevate a young team in the playoffs, taking the Toronto Raptors to heights they haven’t been since he was playing for them in his age-27 season.
But those are April, May and maybe — if you dream hard enough — June problems.
The Raptors have to get that far first.
And while Leonard will have a lot to do with how far the Raptors go —replicating his 65 game, all-NBA season with the Los Angeles Clippers from last season would go a long way towards a big run — he’s going to need some help.
How much he will get, is the question.
The rules of the universe should prevent anyone from drawing any conclusions on the basis of a single exhibition game, let alone the first exhibition game. But it feels safe to say that the Miami Heat — the Raptors' opponents Saturday at the Videotron Centre — have a lot of quality NBA players on their roster.
It starts with Giannis Antetokounmpo, of course, after he was acquired in a blockbuster off-season trade. But the list also includes four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson, signed after he was bought out by the Dallas Mavericks; Bobby Portis Jr., who was part of the trade that brought Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee, and Tim Hardaway Jr. who was in the conversation for Sixth Man of the Year with Denver last season. Then there are holdovers Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson and more.
It’s a bit early to predict the Heat as Eastern Conference favourites, but they have a deep collection of proven NBA players of varying wattage, anchored by one of the best five players in the sport.
“The front office, they definitely did their thing this summer,” said Wiggins, the Canadian NBA star who is suddenly in his 13th season somehow. “They put the right pieces together, pieces that work and I feel like for this team, the sky’s the limit.”
The Raptors would like to believe the same thing. If they are going to match or surpass their result from last season (46 wins, fifth seed, first-round playoff exit), they are going to have to pick up their game against the improved Heat as well as talented rosters in Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Cleveland, Detroit and Atlanta, just off the top of the head.
They didn’t do a very good job of it Saturday night as the Heat starters were too much for the Raptors' starting five and the Heat bench versus the Raptors' second unit — missing some keys pieces — was not even close, a big reason Miami won 129-105.
Now, let’s be clear, the Raptors were without Leonard, who they very much hope will be the straw that stirs their protein shake. He has not played full-court, live basketball so far in training camp.
“I mean, we’ve got to have in mind the last time he played live against players was a (play-in tournament) game against Golden State last season,” said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. “He didn't play any live at all this whole summer, and obviously when it was time to ramp up and play, the trade still had not gone through.
“So we're being super cautious just to build him up the right way. I think the plan is to have him sit out; he's going to have a whole week working out. Probably he's not going to play against the Clippers (in Vancouver next Saturday) as well. And hopefully at that point, we're going to start including him in games after that.”
The Raptors are going to need him, based on early returns.
The Heat’s offence wasn’t very sophisticated. There was a lot of Antetokounmpo playing as a giant point guard, using his massive frame to gain an advantage off the dribble and then pitching out to open three-point shooters when the Raptors inevitably slid over to help whoever the primary defender was. It’s a tough formula to beat especially when the likes of Wiggins (4-of-6 from three in the first half) or Hardaway Jr. (4-of-4 in the first half) are stepping into open looks.
“He makes great plays,” said Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra. “… When you see it every day in practice this week, you appreciate how brilliant of a playmaker he can be with his size and vision and his ability just to put (the pass) on the numbers to your shooters.
“Pat (Heat president Pat Riley) was in practice all week and the way (Antetokounmpo) has played with the ball in his hands and delivering the ball reminds all of us of a great big point guard who played for Pat back in the '80s,” added Spoelstra, referring to former Lakers great Magic Johnson.
Antetokounmpo’s passing and the Heat’s shooting was a big reason Miami led 76-55 after two quarters, The minutes for the starters on either side were basically non-existent in the second half.
But the Raptors defence wasn’t the most concerning part — they at least forced 25 Miami turnovers. And no one is scheming up to stop specific opponents or tendencies in pre-season. What was concerning from the Raptors' point of view was how undermanned they looked offensively against the Heat.
The Raptors want to shoot and make more threes? Well, they put up 23 of them in the first half and made just six. They shot 12-of-41 from the game, which looked very 2025-26. Fortunately, the Raptors scored 21 points in transition in the first half, sparked by 10 steals, because other than that the offence was dry as an old pie crust.
Scottie Barnes (11 points) had some moments in the second quarter and RJ Barrett (15 points, including 7-of-8 from the free-throw line) looked more or less like themselves, but where the additional offence is going to come from — especially against good teams — could be a moving target.
Leonard will be a big help in that regard, given he averaged 29.7 points per game last season, but it will be incumbent on likes of Immanuel Quickley, Ja’Kobe Walter and Jamal Shead (a combined 3-of-12 in the first half for eight points) to prove themselves capable of generating a spark on nights when Leonard isn’t available, or during the 16 or so minutes he doesn’t play.
The margin for error in the East will be very slim, if the new-look Heat are any indication.
Three-point Grange
The Antetokounmpo effect
There are a lot of great players in the NBA, but because he’s been associated with many trade rumours and injuries over his long, slow exit from Milwaukee, perhaps the glow around Antetokounmpo has dimmed somewhat?
Hard to know, but even while playing just 27.6 minutes per game over 34 games for the dysfunctional Bucks, Antetokounmpo averaged 27.6 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists last season. He brings a seriousness to his job that seems to already have rubbed off on the Heat.
“Even from the summer, being able to spend some time with him, he's a highly competitive, ambitious player. He wants to win. It's very important to him,” said Spoelstra. “That's our language. And it's one of the things that we felt like made us so interested in him. I think he saw some things where we speak in a similar way about how we view competition.
"He's highly intelligent also — all the great players are. He's got great recall of plays and how he sees the game on both ends of the court. We're just thrilled that he's in a Miami uniform.”
So there’s a chance?
Leonard wasn’t the only projected member of the Raptors rotation who was not available against the Heat. Among those sitting out included rookie Allen Graves (groin strain), incoming veteran Kyle Anderson (knee), three-point specialist Jamison Battle (back) and second-year wing Alijah Martin (knee).
The Raptors dressed just 12 players, and with the starters doing most of their work in the first half, it was a good chance for some two-way players and camp invites to get some shine.
The Raptors roster is essentially full but given how top-heavy they will be with veteran contracts in the coming seasons, they will always be on the lookout for role players on cheap deals that can contribute.
Unfortunately, none of the Raptors youngsters were really up to the task. Nimari Burnett has had a strong camp by all accounts, but the former University of Michigan guard couldn’t get his looks to drop — though he deserves credit for getting up 10 shots (and eight threes) in his 24 minutes before fouling out.
Malachi Smith, signed on a two-way deal just before camp to add some shooting to the program, was 0-of-4 from deep. Rookie guard Jaden Bradley had four fouls and two assists but did hit his only three-point attempt.
Looking ahead
The Raptors flew back to Toronto Saturday night and were scheduled to get Sunday off before returning to the OVO Athletic Centre for three days of workouts. Then it’s off to Vancouver on Thursday. They'll practise there Friday before they host the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday at Rogers Arena.
Clippers-Raptors won’t have quite the same buzz around it given it’s unlikely that Leonard will play and former Raptor Brandon Ingram won’t be on the floor as he recovers from off-season ankle surgery and a partial Achilles tear.
It will be nice to see Gradey Dick — the other Raptor included in the Leonard deal. He should get some good runway to build some momentum after he fell out of the rotation last season in Toronto.
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