Raptors open season against scrappy, short-handed Bulls
Fight during practice ends with concussion and suspension
TORONTO — Dwane Casey has seen his fair share of fights between teammates. DeMar DeRozan hinted that he might have been in one — or two — in high school.
But the Toronto Raptors have to beware of the visiting Chicago Bulls turning an ugly incident in their favour. The Raptors host a short-handed Bulls team in their season opener Thursday after a brawl at a Chicago practice left power forward Nikola Mirotic with a concussion and broken bones in his face. Bobby Portis was suspended for eight games by the team for his role in Tuesday’s incident.
“We had some doozies in Seattle. . . We had some fisticuffs,” said Casey, who was an assistant with the SuperSonics from 1994 to 2005. “One that started on the court and went in the weight room and went outside, come back in. It was a long one.
“Sometimes when you have that, as long as guys aren’t getting hurt, you can turn it around on the other team . ... Something like this could be a galvanizing situation for them.”
The Bulls, who lost 125-104 to Toronto in their pre-season finale, said Mirotic might require surgery for his injuries.
Fighting between teammates was a topic of conversation Wednesday after the Raptors held their final pre-season practice. From a coach’s perspective, Casey said he doesn’t necessarily mind when practice gets heated and teammates play each other hard.
“You want guys to compete, to go at each other. But not to the point where you injure a teammate,” Casey said. “You always preach: have an edge. I like edgy practices, but when it becomes physical and there’s an opportunity to hurt a teammate, that’s where you draw the line.”
DeRozan said it’s rare to hear about fights nowadays, but understands how strained emotions can spill over into practice.
“High school we fought a lot,” DeRozan said. “We used to have to go in the middle of the circle and the first one out of the circle loses. Compton High. If you’re talking smack, that was one way to settle it. I hope school’s not like that any more.”
The Raptors host Philadelphia on Saturday and then head west for a six-game road trip that will see them face San Antonio, Golden State, the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland, Denver and Utah.