- The Toronto Raptors arrived in Florida, and are now ready, to begin preparations for the NBA restart.
- Because of the complex rules in Canada, they didn’t start the training camp at home but had to go to the US.
- Raptors are still one of the biggest favorites to clinch the title once again.
Champs Land in Florida
Toronto is the only NBA team who is going to participate in the league’s restart, and won’t be having its training camp at home. The champions arrived in Florida last night, and are preparing to begin with training sessions.
Raptors’ camp will be set at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, and that is going to be their base until the start of the games. According to the sources from within the organization, this venue is excellent, because it has all the needed resources for the Raptors’ logistics.
Also, it is very close to ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, where champs head on July 7.
The reason for this development, and Toronto’s trip here, are Canada’s safety measures which force all those who enter the country form the United States to be in the quarantine for 14 days. Having in mind that many of the Raptors players come from the USA, they all would have to go through the same procedure. And that is something which would disrupt Nick Nurse’s plans.
The recent rise of COVID-19 infections all over the state and the country, isn’t concerning the team from Canada, as they plan to hold their workouts under strict and tough rules.
“In keeping with NBA and team safety protocols, there will be no group workouts during this phase of return to play, and strict protocols have been designed to ensure this initial level of access will take place in a safe, controlled, and healthy way,” the champs wrote in the statement.
Having in mind that the Raptors have solid chances of going deep into the postseason, we might see them localized in Florida for a long time.
Toronto Among Top Contenders for the Title
With 46 wins and 18 losses, the Raptors are among the top contenders to win the title. Even though many believed to see them falling all the way to the middle of the East, Nick Nurse once again did an incredible job with this team.
Without Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, the team from Ontario still plays one of the most appealing and attractive basketballs in the NBA. It is no wonder why they keep the second place in the Eastern Conference, behind the undisputed league-leading Milwaukee Bucks.
Though we need to underline that we saw the same situation last year when Raptors ended behind the Bucks during the regular part of the campaign. You know what happened afterward.
All this boosts the morale of the crew and the fans, who are eagerly expecting the restart. All the players should be healthy and ready to play, which is a massive plus for this side, after all the injuries and troubles they experienced since the start of the campaign.
