Toronto Raptors: 3 Early-Season Tests For Rudy Gay, DeMar DeRozan And Co.

DeMar DeRozan finished strong in 2012-13 for the Toronto Raptors. Photo Credit: Basketball Schedule, Flickr.com

While speculating about teams during the offseason can be fun, when it comes down to it, you cannot realistically judge a team until they enter regular-season play. Whether the team is expected to do well or not, there are many indicators during the first few games of a season to help understand a team’s potential throughout the rest of the season.

For the Toronto Raptors, nobody is expecting them to do well. As of now, most expect the Raptors to be wildly mediocre at best. However, Toronto has a potential shot of sneaking into the Eastern Conference playoff race as long as they prove they can battle with the best teams in the league.

There are at least three early-season games to help the Raptors, and their fans, to determine their team’s worth for the 2013-14 season. These games are against high-profile teams that can help Toronto find their identity early in the season. Whether they win or lose those games, just getting some of the toughest tests out of the way early in the season could pay huge dividends for the Raptors later on.

Key Game No. 1: Nov. 5 vs. Miami Heat

A game against the two-time defending NBA champions for the fourth game of the season in your own arena? This one’s a no-brainer.

It’s obvious that, on paper, the Raptors do not have the skill or strength to knock off the Miami Heat in a seven-game series, but they don’t have to do that. All they need to do is beat them once. Just one win against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Heat would be a great confidence booster for Toronto.

Rudy Gay has the length to keep up with LeBron and DeRozan is more explosive than Wade is. Not to mention that Jonas Valanciunas seems more determined this year based on his play in Summer League.

All it takes is one game, one win, against a quality opponent such as the Miami Heat to get the ball rolling on the season. Toronto has a tall task ahead of them, but unlikelier things have happened.

Key Game No. 2: Nov. 8 at Indiana Pacers

If it’s not going to happen for the Raptors against the Heat, they have another shot against the very team that almost held Miami out of the NBA Finals last season: the Indiana Pacers.

Indiana will come into the 2013-14 season with extremely high expectations based on their playoff performance this past spring. The Pacers came up just a bit short from a surprising NBA Finals appearance. Now they will have the emerging Paul George to go along with a potentially healthy Danny Granger. Indiana has a chance to be a very dangerous team this season and Toronto will need to match their intensity and physicality.

Gay and DeRozan will likely be matched against Granger and George, pitting each team’s most talented players against each other. Overall, Indiana is a much more experienced than the Raptors are. Toronto needs to grow up fast to put up some good games against teams like the Pacers if they want to compete this season.

Two early tests against the best the Eastern Conference has to offer. Toronto has it’s hands full in the first week of the NBA season.

Key Game No. 3: Nov. 11 at Houston Rockets

It’s not just Eastern Conference teams that the Raptors have to worry about, however. There are plenty of teams in the Western Conference just as good as the Heat and Pacers, with one of them being the new-look Houston Rockets.

Houston brought in James Harden last year and made the playoffs. Now they have brought in Dwight Howard to bolster their already impressive lineup and are now one of the favorites to win the NBA championship this season.

This will especially be a good test for Valanciunas as he will go toe-to-toe with Howard down low. Jonas will have to prove he has improved his game and is ready to be the man for the Raptors. It’ll be a physical battle, assuming Howard is as focused as he wants us to think.

Overall, the Western Conference has better teams than the East has to offer, and knocking off one of the top teams on the road early in the season could be big. It’s just a matter of being confident for Toronto. They must focus their attention on the goal of winning and pulling it off against Houston should not be a problem.

Toronto may not be expected to do much this season, but the Raptors have a chance to right the ship. It’s going to take consistent play all season long. With a set of difficult games to open the season, Gay, Valanciunas, DeRozan and Co. have their work cut out for them. It’ll come down to grit and toughness on the part of the players on the court. The Raptors need a spark to start the season and the games against Miami, Indiana and Houston are their best shot to gain that spark.