Lunchbox Links

Think you got game? The Erie BayHawks, NBA Development League affiliates of the Toronto Raptors, have set Toronto free agent tryouts for October 31 and November 1, at the Kerr Hall Gymnasium on the campus of Ryerson University in Toronto.

Michael Sweetney will eat all your Halloween candy, and leave nothing but empty wrappers for your kids.

Despite the lopsided score in yesterday's pre-season game against the Boston Celtics, Raptors coach Jay Triano -- apparently a "glass is half full" kind of guy -- sees good. And, as The Globe and Mail's Michael Grange noted, the starting five look good, when together.

If fatigue is being used as an excuse right now, I'd hate to see what they come up with later in the regular season. Of course, when all else fails, you can always blame the replacement refs.

Over at Raptors Republic, Arsenalist continues to tell himself "it's only pre-season" while offering a report card on the Raptors' subpar performance against the Celtics. The Zan Report also takes a look at yesterday's defeat.

Who will win first? The Globe and Mail's Jeff Blair thinks it's possible that the Raptors could end up in the win column before the hapless Toronto Maple Leafs.

In Chris Bosh's mind, winning trumps the big market vs. small market debate.

Has Jose Calderon already proven he's not one of those "backup with more minutes = monster starter" guys? The Baseline Sees All.

Backup point guard Jarrett Jack is mentoring rookie DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems, who should also benefit from the return of shooting guru/consultant Dave Hopla.

Tim from The Picket Fence predicts that the Raptors will be a half decent defensive team. No, seriously. Stop laughing.

Three games. Three injuries. Three rebounds per game. Miami is loving the Jermaine O'Neal era.

CelticsBlog compiles a list of Central Division previews.