Title: Early Raptors camp battles: Fifth starter, who rounds out the second unit, roster spots and more
Date: August 27, 2021
Original Source: The Athletic
Synopsis: In my latest for The Athletic Toronto, I broke down some of the camp battles that will be worth watching when the Raptors open up shop in a month.
It won’t be long now. A rare stretch of quiet on the NBA calendar will give way to media day in just a few weeks. From there, the conversations will flow.
What player put on the most muscle or lost the most fat this offseason? Who’s your carved beef? Who’s been in the lab adding a new dribble combination or extending their range? Who had the best 1-on-0 workout clips showing us nothing on social media? Some years, those training camp discussions are the only thing to talk about until there’s some preseason footage to see it all in action. Other years, there’s so much on the line in camp that you can’t help but ask some bigger questions early.
That’s what we’ll do today. The Raptors will enter camp in late September (location TBD) with several competitions. In some cases, those will be very heated, with a lot riding on a short-term outcome. In others, it will be more about fit, with the ability to pivot to a new direction later if necessary.
Blake Murphy Sports Writing 