No Kawhi, no offence as Raptors lose pre-season opener to Giannis, Heat

A bright spot for the Raptors was Collin Murray-Boyles, who provided a strong first impression

Published Oct 03, 2026  •  Last updated 10 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Miami Heat dribbles the ball against Collin Murray-Boyles of the Toronto Raptors during the first half of a pre-season NBA game at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City on Oct. 3, 2026. Photo by Minas Panagiotakis /Getty Images

See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source

Article content

The Toronto Raptors didn’t put on much of a show for fans in Quebec City on Saturday night.

Article content

Article content

Minus Kawhi Leonard, who isn’t ready to suit up yet, as well as several other players, Toronto and Miami kicked off the NBA’s pre-season with a mostly dull affair, ultimately won 129-105 by the Heat.

With Leonard watching, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the other mega-star new to either team, looked dominant early in his Miami debut before taking a seat. RJ Barrett was the best Raptor with 15 points in 18 minutes.

Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic told reporters in Quebec City it is unlikely that Leonard plays in Toronto’s second pre-season game, next Saturday in Vancouver against the Clippers either.

Leonard historically has played in only two or three pre-season games if healthy, and about 15-20 minutes in those games.

Miami theoretically entered the game tired, even though it was the first pre-season tilt, thanks to airplane trouble. The team didn’t arrive in Quebec City until 1 a.m. Saturday. However, it was the rested Raptors who looked off, missing shot after shot while the Heat buried them with three-pointers early. The Raptors launched brick after brick, while Antetokounmpo attacked at the other end and consistently set up teammates for open three-pointers, which they more often than not connected on.

Article content

Article content

A 41-23 all-Heat first quarter instantly put Toronto on its heels and with mostly third and fourth-stringers playing in the second half, there was no comeback to be made.

Bright spot

Much is expected of sophomore big man Collin Murray-Boyles this season, and he provided a strong first impression. It didn’t take long for the man regarded as the best defensive player in his draft crop to show he has taken even more steps forward. He forced Antetokounmpo into a turnover early, and also forced a pair of miscues from Bam Adebayo. Murray-Boyles also skied for a rebound over Antetokounmpo and also attacked the former defensive player of the year after putting the ball on the floor, scored and was fouled.

There weren’t a lot of things for the Raptors to be thrilled about in this one, but Murray-Boyles had his moments. So, too, did starting centre Jakob Poeltl. Coming off a disastrous, injury-marred season, Poeltl has looked spry and athletic in camp after revamping his summer training regimen and even against the far more athletic Miami front-court didn’t look out of place.

Article content

The East’s other revamped squad

Like Toronto, Miami made a summer deal to bring in an all-time great. Antetokounmpo’s at-times tumultuous time with the Milwaukee Bucks finally — mercifully — came to an end in July, not long after the Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers agreed to the Leonard blockbuster. Giannis had long been linked to the Heat and it finally happened, though on paper the team is not as strong as Toronto, even though Adebayo, like Barnes, is a pretty damn good second-best player on any team.

Miami depleted its depth considerably though, losing scoring guard Tyler Herro, 2025-26 Sixth Man runner-up Jaime Jaquez, emerging big man Kel’el Ware, young guard Kasparas Jakucionas, three first-round picks, another pick swap option and a second rounder.

Giannis commanded a bit more than Leonard did because he’s 3.5 years younger, historically healthier (though not necessarily recently), has two more MVP award wins than Leonard (though one less title and Finals MVP nod) and wasn’t surrounded by any scandals.

Article content

Poll league executives, coaches or players on who they would rather have, though, and you might be surprised at the answers. Both are absolute freaks of natures and yes Antetokounmpo is a bit younger, but Leonard is in a different galaxy as an offensive player, more Kobe Bryant than Antetokounmpo’s Shaquille O’Neal approach to getting buckets and the Greek Freak has been beset by nagging lower body injuries in recent years, constantly seeming to go down for long stretches (though part of that might have been connected to his growing unhappiness with the Bucks).

Miami and Toronto were part of a multi-team dog fight down to secure the final playoff and play-in spots down the stretch, with the Raptors ultimately finishing three games ahead of the Heat. It will be interesting to see what transpires in 2026-27.

Read More

1. 

   How the blockbuster Giannis Antetokounmpo trade impacts the Raptors
2. 

   Rogers Communications' purchase of remaining 25% stake in MLSE finalized

Article content

Antetokounmpo and Adebayo (the first ‘Killer As’ we can think of in sports after plenty of ‘Killer Bs’) will lead the way, but Canada’s own Andrew Wiggins, ex-Raptor point guard Davion Mitchell, rising guard Pelle Larsson (just rewarded with a new contract), whatever’s left in the tank of future Hall of Famer Klay Thompson (last year he continued his recent decline), Bobby Portis and Tim Hardaway Jr. should lead the rotation. They have shooters around the big men and will be fearsome defensively, but might not be top-heavy enough to really hang with the top teams in the East, which now includes the Raptors.

Hardaway and Wiggins actually combined to hit as many three-pointers through 2.5 quarters than all of the Raptors, going 7-for-9 from three before their nights ended early. Larsson hit his first three shots and also seven straight free throws as Toronto struggled to stop him.

Around the rim

It was great to have Jack Armstrong on the broadcast, fresh off receiving a new contract from TSN. This is Armstrong’s 29th season on the broadcast. It wouldn’t be the same without him … Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley didn’t play in the second half. Neither had a game to remember, but at this stage that doesn’t matter at all … The Raptors had only 12 active players. Rookie Allen Graves, newcomer Kyle Anderson, Jamison Battle and Trayce Jackson-Davis were amongst the other players out.

@WolstatSun

Article content