Raptors vs. Nets: An easy transition to friendly shores

Anybody who's spent at least a week on vacation knows that returning to work is a process. It only takes your body about three days to get into vacation mode -- pretty soon you're up until 3 a.m. every night, reading possibly insomnia-fueled, definitely depression-fueled late night Twitter, and contemplating your place in the cosmos. Or maybe that's just me.

After a week on vacation (let's face it, the game in London was an obligation in a week of London tourist stuff), it is indeed a return to routine for the Toronto Raptors tonight, as they take their rested legs to the Air Canada Centre for a match-up with the Brooklyn Nets, the best possible team to play for returning to form.

You see, the Nets are not very good. The two teams met in the borough on January 6, with the Raptors looking bored for long stretches and still pulling out a 91-74 win. The best thing the Nets did was a complete accident, and that's really the best way you could sum up that team at the moment. They've gutted their organization, fired their coach, and a mad man who uses ping pong balls in a basketball drill is convinced they'll be a playoff team next year.

What I'm trying to say here is this -- the Nets are bad, but the Raptors are likely a little complacent. It may not be a pretty game tonight, but it's a dynamite opportunity for Toronto to get their legs back and get rolling for a seven-game home stand.

If you're feeling it, you can read Michael Hoad's game preview. Now let's dust off those keyboards and get to the comments.