Raptors announce preseason schedule and ticket sale dates

In anticipation of the coming 2016-17 NBA season, the Raptors have announced the dates for not only their preseason schedule, but also the official day regular season tickets go on sale.

Mark it: Members of the general public will be able to buy all the Raptors tickets your heart desires (and your wallet allows) starting on September 15th. This includes all the different mini and 10-packs as well as group sales and the like. If you happen to be on the Raptors Offers List, there’s a special sale going on the day before (the 14th) so, I don’t know, maybe look it that.

Before we get to the regular season though, there’s the always important (re: not important at all) preseason. To that end, the Raptors have announced their schedule for the game that do not count. Take a look:

Saturday, October 1 - Golden State - Rogers Arena, Vancouver - 7:30 p.m.

Monday, October 3 - Denver - Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary - 10 p.m.

Wednesday, October 5 - at L.A. Clippers - STAPLES Center, Los Angeles - 10:30 p.m.

Thursday, October 13 - at Cleveland - Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland - 8 p.m.

Friday, October 14 - San Lorenzo de Almagro - Air Canada Centre, Toronto - 7 p.m.

Wednesday, October 19 - at Detroit - The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit - 7:30 p.m.

Friday, October 21 - at Washington - Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. - 7 p.m.

Hey now, these are some high profile opponents! As I remarked yesterday, the Raptors and their fans will be among the first to see the new-look Warriors. On top of that, the Raptors will also take on the defending champion Cavaliers. Toss in a cool matchup with champions San Lorenzo de Almagro of Argentina and you’ve got yourself a stew going.

If there’s a downside here it’s that so few of the games are actually in Toronto. It’s definitely a cool thing for the Raptors to hit the road in Canada and play in places like Vancouver and Calgary (as with Montreal last year). But, we can still collectively shake our heads at the thought that the sole preseason game taking place at home is against a team not of the NBA.

Or maybe we should just relax. It’s the preseason.