Raptors open the regular season tonight after lengthy labour dispute

TORONTO, Ont. – The Toronto Raptors will finally hit the hardwood tonight, after a lengthy labour dispute kept the NBA on the sidelines.

The Raptors will open their season in Cleveland against the Cavaliers, where they’ll hope to open the season on a high note against a Cavalier squad that only won 19 games last year.

While expectations for the Raptors may not be sky high, Raptors play-by-play voice Paul Jones says teams and fans should not take the Raptors lightly.

“They’re out to surprise people and I think they might,” Jones said. “We’re not talking about surprising people by winning an NBA championship, but certainly not being an easy pushover.”

Adding to the new look Raptors will be new head coach Dwane Casey, who is looking to change the culture of the team.

“He’s really a no nonsense kind of guy, you may not see him up there yelling or screaming all the time, but he really has his team rooted in the proper principles of playing the game,” Jones said.

Jones added that the Raps should be a hard-working, blue-collar team this year. While he thinks it’s unlikely they’ll be a playoff squad, they should be able to surprise more then a few teams over the shortened season.

Headlining the team this year will be centre Andrea Bargnani and shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, who are both expected to play a major role in the team’s offence.

The Raptors will play 66 games in 120 days as part of a shortened schedule.

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