(Montreal) The Toronto Raptors’ leading scorer last season, Pascal Siakam still had to miss the first 10 games of the season, recovering from left shoulder surgery. This time, he is fully fresh and ready from the start.
Posted at 1:55 p.m.
“Having been able to work all summer and play all the preseason games really helps for the preparation,” said Siakam in a scrum near the field on Friday morning. Last season yes, the injury was a bit of a factor in terms of energy at the start.
“My goal has always been to be among the best. The amount of work is there and I hope for good results, good things on my side. »
The Raptors complete their exhibition schedule by hosting the Boston Celtics at the Bell Center on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
This will be the Toronto club’s first game in Montreal since 2018, and the sixth at the Bell Center as part of the Canada Series, launched in 2012.
There will be a full house, as was the case in Edmonton on October 2, against the Utah Jazz.
“It means a lot, it makes us unique as a team to have the support of an entire country,” Siakam said. These are incredible opportunities. »
It’s very nice (to come and play in Montreal). It’s always a joy to see everyone excited and happy to come to the game.
Pascal Siakam
He also believes that the metropolis has what it takes to one day get an NBA team.
“Montreal is a beautiful city and I think, ‘why not’,” said the Cameroonian. People are present at each of our visits and it is a pleasure. »
If many dream of it, it should be noted that the feeling emerging from observers is that any expansion, if there is one, will undoubtedly wait until there is in place a new collective agreement or a new NBA broadcasting agreement. , or both.
These pacts end after the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, respectively. Equally if not more important, it seems very likely that the first choice would be a return to Seattle, before possibly turning to Las Vegas.
The other player who met the media on Friday morning is Montrealer Khem Birch, author of three offensive rebounds in six minutes on Sunday against Chicago.
PHOTO ERIK WILLIAMS, USA TODAY SPORTS
Quebecer Khem Birch of the Toronto Raptors
“It’s been a big part of my game (rebounds) since the beginning of my career,” said the six-foot-nine athlete, who should count on about twenty relatives and friends in the stands on Friday. It comes naturally to me. »
At the end of June, the Raptors awarded new contracts to Montrealer Chris Boucher and veteran Thad Young. In July, they signed veteran Otto Porter, who played well on the Warriors’ playoff run, beating the Celtics in the Finals.
“Otto has a long record,” Siakam said of Porter’s nine seasons on the league. We have several young players and his experience as a veteran will be very important.
“He knows what it takes to win and you always need people like that. »
Thursday evening, in an event hall in Parc-Extension, the launch of the SlimmDuck Foundation, an initiative of Boucher, was held.
Also Thursday, Christian Koloko, drafted in the second round last June, took part in basketball workshops with young people aged 14 and under, at the UQAM Sports Center.
PHOTO CARLOS OSORIO, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Quebecer Chris Boucher of the Toronto Raptors
Injured in the back of the left thigh, Boucher will miss Friday night’s game.
Boucher suffered a strain last Friday in Houston. He did not play last Sunday in Toronto against the Bulls.
Toronto is 2-2 in exhibition games this year.
The Raptors most recently played in Montreal on October 10, 2018, winning 118-91 over the Brooklyn Nets.
That evening, in front of 20,526 people at the Bell Centre, a Boucher hired a few months earlier was inserted into the game with 7:07 on the clock.
He missed three shots, before hitting twice from three-point range. The crowd loved it, chanting his name.
Champions in 2019, the Raptors finished fifth in the East in 2021-22, going 48-34. In the first round, they were beaten in six meetings by 76ers of Philadelphia.
Their regular season will begin Wednesday at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers.