Toronto's big move was bringing Kawhi Leonard back from the Clippers. It's the first time he's worn a Raptors uniform since the 2019 title run. He's 35 now, and a lengthy NBA investigation held up the trade, so every rep he takes in camp gets watched closely. Scottie Barnes is still the centerpiece, and Darko Rajaković's job this month is to figure out rotations and an identity for a team that suddenly expects to win.
Toronto also gets a small edge on the schedule. The Raptors are holding camp at Université Laval's PEPS complex, the same place they trained in 2019, so they've been living in Quebec City all week. Miami practices at FAU through Friday and then flies north for a Saturday game. Neither coach has said how many minutes the big names will play, and in the first exhibition of a season that answer could be "not many."
Don't read much into the injury report. Most of it dates back to Summer League. Ryan Conwell's hip and Myron Gardner's ankle kept them out in Las Vegas, and so did the knees of Toronto's Alijah Martin and Chucky Hepburn. The one to watch is Nate Bittle. He's on a non-guaranteed Exhibit-10 deal trying to win a roster spot, and he was last seen in a walking boot for a lower-leg injury in September. For a player in his spot, missing preseason games can decide whether he makes the team.
Toronto's young players might be the most interesting part of the night. Collin Murray-Boyles, Ja'Kobe Walter and first-round rookie Allen Graves all come in with bigger expectations. Tyreke Key, Nimari Burnett and Andre Jackson Jr. are fighting for the last spots on a roster with little cap room to spare. If the stars sit early, the 2nd half of this game becomes a tryout, and a good one.
On the Miami side, the thing to watch is how Giannis and Adebayo share the floor. By all accounts they've been going at each other in practice, and on Saturday they're finally on the same team against someone else. With Thompson and Portis spacing the floor around them, even a few minutes together will be the first real evidence of what Miami built this summer.