Just like last year, the Toronto Raptors are opening the season at home, against the New Orleans Pelicans, and every available ticket for the game has been sold.

ItB次元官网网址檚 exactly the same.

And entirely different.

The Tampa era B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檒l last until at least early March, maybe the full season, nobody knows for certain yet B次元官网网址� of Raptors basketball formally opens Wednesday night, when the team plays host to the Pelicans. Unlike last season, when more than 20,000 fans crammed into Scotiabank Arena on opening night, WednesdayB次元官网网址檚 matchup is expected to draw a socially distanced 3,800, the maximum permitted right now at TampaB次元官网网址檚 Amalie Arena according to the health and safety protocols put in to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

For the Raptors, it feels like home. It looks like home. It is home, for now.

B次元官网网址淲e are all creatures of habit. Familiarity is where we thrive,B次元官网网址� said Teresa Resch, the RaptorsB次元官网网址� vice-president of basketball operations and one of the guiding forces behind the teamB次元官网网址檚 move to Tampa. B次元官网网址淎nd the more familiar you can make it, the more comfortable you are, the better you are able to perform and ultimately thatB次元官网网址檚 what weB次元官网网址檙e trying to do here is weB次元官网网址檙e trying to grow as an organization and perform our best.B次元官网网址�

The Raptors and those who are assisting them in Tampa have tried to simulate the comforts the team has at home in Toronto, at least as much as possible. B次元官网网址淲e The NorthB次元官网网址� signage is everywhere in the hotel that the Raptors will use as a practice facility, from the elevator doors to the ballroom wall behind one of the baskets. The court that the Raptors will use for games came from Toronto. And thereB次元官网网址檚 a 2019 world championship banner swaying from the rafters B次元官网网址� alongside the Tampa Bay LightningB次元官网网址檚 retired jerseys for Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis B次元官网网址� at the same end of the court as the RaptorsB次元官网网址� bench.

The banner immediately caught the eye of Raptors coach Nick Nurse when he checked out the surroundings.

B次元官网网址淗ey, the banner! ItB次元官网网址檚 kind of cool,B次元官网网址� Nurse said.

The Raptors needed a new home because the U.S.-Canada border remains closed to almost all non-essential crossings because of the pandemic. Many cities lobbied; Tampa wound up being the pick in a move that added to a hectic sports year for the city which has seen the NHLB次元官网网址檚 Lightning win the Stanley Cup, baseballB次元官网网址檚 Rays reach the World Series and the NFLB次元官网网址檚 Buccaneers land Tom Brady in a season where Tampa also plays host to the Super Bowl.

B次元官网网址淭he Toronto Raptors and their fans will not be disappointed here in Tampa Bay,B次元官网网址� Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said

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The last time Tampa was on the NBAB次元官网网址檚 schedule prior to this season was in 2010, when Miami and Orlando were supposed to meet there in a preseason game. The matchup wound up getting cancelled shortly before game time because someone used an oil-based soap to clean the court and things got slippery.

This is already off to a better start.

The Raptors are raving about the arena setup. The practice facility, constructed in a hotel ballroom B次元官网网址� very similar to what the NBA put into use during the summer restart at Walt Disney World B次元官网网址� has many of the same things that the team has in Toronto. The Raptor mascot is performing at games, the starting lineups are announced the same way, and Nurse can walk to work now, which he enjoys.

B次元官网网址淭hey did a great job with the facility,B次元官网网址� Raptors guard Fred VanVleet said. B次元官网网址淔or us, itB次元官网网址檚 a mixture of what we have in Toronto and what we experienced in the bubble. We kind of got brainwashed into practicing in ballrooms in the bubble and it became normal for us. This doesnB次元官网网址檛 feel all that different but itB次元官网网址檚 nice to see all of our Raptors stuff in here. They did a great job.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 little things that we donB次元官网网址檛 have that we do at home B次元官网网址� but the people who put this together did a great job.B次元官网网址�

This endeavour is not without hardship.

There are about 60 employees who moved from Toronto to Tampa, some with families, some without. Some arena workers in Toronto, who obviously havenB次元官网网址檛 had their game-night jobs since March, still donB次元官网网址檛 have them. And the move is costing the Raptors a small fortune; the NBA has some experience with helping in the scenario of a team being displaced B次元官网网址� the last time it happened was in 2005-06 and 2006-07 when the New Orleans Hornets played in Oklahoma City following Hurricane Katrina B次元官网网址� and will almost certainly cover some of those costs.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he expects other team owners to support Toronto and what he called its B次元官网网址渆xtraordinary circumstances.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淥ne thing wonderful about this league is that while the 30 teamsB次元官网网址� goal is to crush each other on the court, off the court theyB次元官网网址檙e business partners,B次元官网网址� Silver said. B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 sort of the secret sauce behind the leagueB次元官网网址檚 success over the last decade in particular, sort of a generation of owners who are really fond of each other and want to work to support one another.B次元官网网址�

So, for now, B次元官网网址淲e The NorthB次元官网网址� has gone south. At least 17 times in the next 2 1/2 months, the Raptors will be calling a court in Tampa home.

TheyB次元官网网址檙e determined to make it work.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 so clich茅, but you have to make lemonade out of lemons,B次元官网网址� Resch said. B次元官网网址淲e would love to be playing in Toronto and playing in front of Toronto fans but weB次元官网网址檙e not. WeB次元官网网址檙e here in Tampa. And you know what? WeB次元官网网址檝e got a beautiful arena, thereB次元官网网址檚 beautiful sun. ThereB次元官网网址檚 definitely lemonade.B次元官网网址�

___

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press

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