Raptors beat the Wizards (3-1)

The Toronto Raptors now take on the Washington Wizards at the Air Canada Center. This game was very close as the Raptors extend their win streak to 2 for the 104-101 win. I'll start of with the man in the center, Jonas Valanciunas  As this is his 3rd NBA game, Valanciunas looks like he is getting in the groove of things, scoring 8 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. Valanciunas match up was against Emeka Okafor, as his only scored 11 points, 5 rebounds and a blocked shot. Unfortunately, their number 8 pick, Terrence Ross, was not able to play due to injury, hindering any preparation for the fast approaching season opener. John Wall of the Wizards, did not play due to a stress in his right knee. Kyle Lowry however, was finally back from injury, as he didn't disappoint, scoring 16 points, 6 assist and 3 steals. Lowry's back up, Jose Calderon did pretty well, scoring 12 points, 8 assist and 2 steals. The 3rd string back up, John Lucas, did not have a great game, because of a lack of minutes, scoring 5 points, 3 assists. Landry Fields was the leading scorer for the Raptors , scoring 15 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. The next opponent for the Raptors are against the New York Knicks.

Raptors Revenge (2-1)

The Toronto Raptors now have something to prove to themselves and to others that they can recover from a loss as they face the Detroit Pistons at the Air Canada Center. The Raptors pulled away with the win with a reasonable margin, 82-75. Unlike his previous game, Jonas Valanciunas had a much better all rounded game as he got 11 points, 8 rebounds an assist and a steal. If Valanciunas can play games like these for the rest of the preseason games, there will be little doubt this rookie will start at center when the official season starts. Mainly the reason why Valanciunas played so well was because of his previous match up, Andre Drummond, only played 6 minutes only scoring 2 points, a steal and a block, which meant Valanciunas could take advantage. Kyle Lowry did not play due to the prolonged injury. For the point guard position, the battle between Jose Calderon and John Lucas strikes again, as Lucas had the majority of the minutes that translated to more points for him, scoring 9 points, 8 assist, 1 rebound, as Calderon did not score with only 3 assist. Demar Derozen yet again was the scoring leader of the team with 14 points. The next opponent for the Raptors are against the Washington Wizards.

Toronto Raptors take a fall (1-1)

Now that the Raptors got there first game out of the way, we move on to their second game as they face the Detroit Pistons. This game was pretty close as Detroit pull away with the win with the final score of 101-99 for the Pistons. Something you can take for this game is the big debut of Jonas Valanciunas  The impression of a "big" debut might be a understatement, as Valanciunas only was able to score only 2 points with limited minutes. For the Pistons, Greg Monroe was there scoring leader getting a double-double in the process, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Another big man that got his debut was rookie Andre Drummond on the Pistons, scoring 10 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. For the point guard situation for the Raptors, Kyle Lowry was still out due to a left leg injury, but his replacement, Jose Calderon did pretty well, scoring 15 points, 4 assists and getting 2 steals. As for John Lucas, he's still playing impressive as if he's ready to move up in the rotation, outscoring Calderon with 16 points, 5 assist. Again for the second straight game, Demar Derozen tops as the scoring leader with 17 points. The Raptors will get another chance  to face the Pistons again this preseason in two days, as they play in the Air Canada Center where Jonas Valanciunas will make his home debut, in hopes to have a better game this time.

The Raptors Debut (1-0)

This will be one of the new posts I will be discussing about the Toronto Raptors on there upsides and downfalls. As you can see, currently, the raps are now have a preseason record of 2-1. This record doesn't mean much as the games are not official, but it gives a better picture on the chemistry of , the players as well as a better understanding of the new players and their abilities, compared to "stabs in the dark" predictions.

The raptors pulled away with the win with 102-95. In the Raptors debut, they had to face off against a foreign team, know as the Real Madrid. They held there own for the most part, with former NBA player Rudy Fernandez playing pretty well with 10 points, 4 assist. As for the Raptors, one of the big surprises ive seen was their back up back up point guard, John Lucas III (yes I really mean back up back up, meaning he would be the last guy off the bench) did pretty good with 16, points, 2 assist over just back up point guard, Jose Calderon with 9 points, 8 assist. Dont get me worng, assists are amazing, but with your third string point guard scoring like that can only mean good things. Terrence Ross scored 10 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assist, for a rookie, thats very good as he is the only rookie for the raptors making his debut. Unfortunately, Jonas Valanucias couldnt make his debut because of a strained calf. Demar Derozen had the team high with 18 points, 6 rebounds, which is a good start for the team.

Jonas Valanciunas first NBA game

Jonas first game in the NBA!!!