Let’s get the caveat out of the way early: every tantalizing thing a young Raptor did, ever C.J. Miles bomb that dropped, and every sound defensive rotation the team made during it’s 117-101 season opening win came against the Chicago Bulls, a team whose offense ran through Robin Lopez, in 2017.
With that substantial qualifier out the way, the Raptors were humming on Thursday night, with much of the tune reverberating from unlikely sources while the team’s staples searched for their groove.
The new starting five of Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell, Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas was lethargic out of the gate, unable to pull away from Chicago’s G-League-ish lineup due to some iffy defending and clunky half court creation.