Raptors HQ · Dec 24, 2020
Five thoughts on last night: Pelicans 113, Raptors 99
Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty ImagesWell, that was unusual, wasn’t it? The Toronto Raptors had won seven straight season openers heading into their matchup with the New Orleans Pelicans, but the Pelicans — under new head coach Stan Van Gundy and with two new starters in Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams — didn’t look like the old Pelicans.
The tables, in fact, looked completely turned — the Pelicans played smart, professional, well-organized basketball, and the Raptors looked discombobulated and slow-footed.
Which is nothing to overreact to — it’s game number one! — so let’s run down the thoughts and move on to game two.
Reality Check