Monday’s Raptors game against short-handed Magic postponed

They try their best in weird times to remain normal: meeting when they can, practising when it’s most prudent, but always being careful and mindful of the minefield they are walking through.

The Raptors took Sunday off — it would normally have been a practice day between scheduled home games Saturday and Monday — and they could certainly have used the time on the court.

And no matter what they did right, it went wrong.

The NBA announced that Monday’s home game against the Orlando Magic has been postponed because of the number of Orlando players unavailable.

It’s the second Raptors game in a week to be postponed — Thursday’s home date against the Chicago Bulls was also bumped — and was one of five called off leaguewide. Denver at Brooklyn, Cleveland at Atlanta and New Orleans at Philadelphia on Sunday were postponed, along with Tuesday’s Washington-Brooklyn game.

The next games for the Magic, Cavaliers and 76ers, as well as the next two for the Nets, have been postponed because of players and staff members in protocols, the league said in a release. The Magic have five players out because of COVID-19, and another six injured.

The Raptors have been reworking their daily schedule as a precaution against the growing outbreak that guard Fred VanVleet says leaves them feeling “vulnerable,” in a world that seems to be changing hour to hour.

“Just (vulnerable) in the sense that nobody knows what is going on, even the experts,” VanVleet said. “They know more than we do, but they don’t have an understanding of everything to come.

“So we’re listening to the doctors and the rules and what the NBA says. We’re going keep showing up to work, but I don’t think there’s enough information to know exactly what to expect. We’re all putting our bodies to the test physically (and staying) diligent with things that they’re telling us to do.”

For the most part, that means staying away from each other more than they’d like to.

“We’ve got to be as safe as we can, probably leaning towards not gathering nearly as much as I would like to. I’d like to at least get out there for a little bit,” coach Nick Nurse said. “We’re a young, growing team that needs to practise, so hopefully we can sneak some in here and there. But if we can’t, we’ve got to learn as much as we can on game night.”

The Raptors lost Pascal Siakam and Dalano Banton to the ubiquitous health and safety protocols on Saturday, and there’s no telling when either will be back.

They understand fully how a COVID outbreak can ruin a season — one devastated the Raptors last spring — and the need for caution is obvious. They get tested more often now than earlier this season, twice on some days, and practise the myriad precautions everyone should be minding.

“If it’s a heavy schedule, we do try to take advantage of film or a shooting session or walk-through or whatever again, because there’s so many improvements (and) steps forward we’re trying to make,” Nurse said.

“I mean, most of that stuff, even our staff meetings, we’re doing them differently now, too … We’re doing less. We’re doing a little more remote … very small groups, very big spaces. You know, all those things that we used to do, we’re doing again.”

If there is any solace, it’s that the Raptors are in one of their few quiet periods in the schedule. They’re expected to play Wednesday in Chicago, then not until Boxing Day in Cleveland.

That does mean they’ll miss some practice days if they keep slowing down, but it also means the risk factors will be mitigated.

“There’s an added layer today of us being here in Toronto and Canada, and having to follow a different set of public safety stipulations,” VanVleet said. “There is certainly a different culture than it is in the States when it comes (to) the health system and COVID in general. It’s a little tighter here. The requirements are a little bit different.

“(It’s) just trying to remain optimistic and stay upbeat about it. We learned a lot about the situation being in Tampa last year and here we are. We’ve got to keep plugging away until told otherwise. But as of now, you know, it just feels like the show’s got to go on and, you know, continue to show up every day and our job.”