Toronto Raptors show championship form in season opener win over Pelicans

The Toronto Raptors opened their season with a marathon victory against the New Orleans Pelicans with Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet leading the way.

As fans promptly made their way to their seats for an opening ceremony to remember, the Toronto Raptors players were waiting to see what Kyle Lowry had in store for the team’s championship ring.

Well let’s just say that the big gold ring which has more than 640 diamonds in it left the players speechless and Raptors fans rushing to the online store to get their replica version. Lowry also made sure that no other NBA team had a ring that big considering Patrick McCaw already has two in his collection.

"“It’s a very spectacular ring. It’s something that you earn, and it took a long time to get,” said Lowry. “[Unless you’re] Patrick McCaw. He has three now. So we just wanted our ring to be better than his other two.”"

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Of course, the crucial part of Lowry’s message was saying how a championship ring is something you earn and considering what all the people were saying about the Raptors’ chances to repeat. Toronto took one step in trying to convince the rest of the league that they are still a team to be feared.

Well seeing how Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam played against the New Orleans Pelicans, it appears as though the Raptors shouldn’t be overlooked just yet. At the same time, seeing how Kawhi Leonard performed in the Los Angeles Clippers home opener, you could say the Raptors will miss having that dominant single force.

Toronto struggled to consistently shoot from three going 35 per cent from beyond the arc while the Pelicans shot 42.2 per cent. The Raptors also went with a short bench with only Norman Powell, Serge Ibaka and Terrence Davis II getting into the game.

While he might have had a slow night offensively, Lowry played 45 minutes and which was the most out of anyone on the team while also hitting the key three-pointer to ice the game in overtime.

Let’s also not forget the play of OG Anunoby who might have missed some shots on offence but was a force defensively especially at the end of the game when he kept the Pelicans from taking the lead late in the fourth quarter.

In a game that saw the Pelicans go punch for punch with the Raptors, Toronto showed why they were a championship calibre team. They didn’t let the game get out of reach considering Siakam and VanVleet were the first Raptors to score 30 or more points in an opener since 2016.

While it isn’t a changing of the guard just yet, Toronto showed at least in this game that they are not ready to step aside just yet.

What are your thoughts on the season opener? What was your favourite part? Let us know in the comments below.