For the first time since the 2018-19 NBA season, the Toronto Raptors travelled to Montreal to play a preseason game, but if you didn’t know any better, it may as well have been a playoff game. From the moment the announcer called on the Raptors players’ names, the Bell Centre was loud and didn’t let up until after the final moments of overtime when the Raptors claimed a stressful 137-134 victory over the Boston Celtics.
The arrival of Montreal’s first CEBL team, the Montreal Alliance, proved that the city could welcome a professional basketball team. When tickets became available for the Raptors’ preseason game in Montreal, they sold out in nine minutes, furthering the idea that an NBA team in Montreal could work.
Leading up to tip-off, the Bell Centre was electric, but the crowd noise reached postseason levels when the Raptors unveiled their starting lineup, including Montreal-born centre Khem Birch. The 30-year-old tallied four points, four rebounds, and two assists in 14 minutes of play.
Also, a shoe exploded mid-game.
While the first half of the game focused mainly on the team’s starters, the second half was the opportune time for bench and fringe players to show what they have to offer. The Raptors’ second-round pick Christian Koloko shined in in his 17 minutes of play before fouling out. He notched 12 points on six shots – without missing any –four rebounds, two blocks, and a steal.
Rexdale native Dalano Banton also saw extended minutes. While his shooting numbers weren’t exactly great, he showed flashes of brilliance as the playmaker off the bench and aggressiveness from beyond the arc that he hadn’t exactly shown last year. He has room for improvement, but his heart and hustle were at the core of his game.
“He’s doing good, he’s actually become a kind of secondary scorer,” Nick Nurse said when asked about Banton. “The best things that I like are that he looks way more comfortable out there. He’s really doing a good job of organizing the play calls and moving the pieces and things like that. And then when you need him late in the clock, he’s going to work and either getting to the rim with the right and left hand or shooting that pull-up.”
Despite a strong showing for Toronto’s young pieces, the veterans looked right at home even without key players like Pascal Siakam, Gary Trent Jr., and the team’s second Montreal-born player Chris Boucher, who sat out with a hamstring injury. To make matters worse, Boucher was dealing with a non-COVID ailment leading up to the final preseason game, barring him from coming to Montreal to experience the craziness that lasted the entire game.
O.G. Anunoby and Scottie Barnes led the offensive charge in the first half with the former picking up 32 points on 62% shooting, six rebounds, and two blocks in just 29 minutes. Reigning Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes also dominated in his 31 minutes on the court. He notched 25 points on 50% shooting, four rebounds, and four assists.
When asked about his goals for the upcoming season, Barnes stated he wanted to make one of the two All-Defense teams.
"I really take pride in defence so me making the defensive team I’ll say that would probably be the biggest thing for me,” said Barnes. “I really take pride on that end, trying to guard those players and try to make make a stamp or an impact on our impact on the game as best as possible.”
When the final moments of the game came to a close, the crowd stood and cheered, not letting up until everyone left the arena, silencing any Celtics fans lurking around. While Montrealers have been clamouring for the city to add another professional sports team, it’s become increasingly clear that adding an NBA team may be more feasible than adding a baseball team, which comes with the caveat of finding a new home for a potential team. An NBA team, on the other hand, could simply share the Bell Centre with the Montreal Canadiens. If the energy for a future hometown team resembles anything compared to what happened during the Raptors’ preseason finale, then it’ll be clear the city can handle a team of its own.
