Toronto at Philadelphia - Sixers favored by 5, total is 190.5

That poster pretty much sums up how we feel about today. Finally the Toronto Raptors are back and ready to rock. The preseason stuff was getting old and it is time to get to some real action. A new TV fully loaded with Raptors TV and TSN 2 has us very amped up about the new season. Not to mention the high expectations the Raps have.

Might as well start it off with a bang tonight against one of the team’s biggest rivals, the 76ers.

The 76ers will debut power forward Elton Brand when they host Jermaine O’Neal and the Raptors in the season opener for both teams.

Toronto went 41-41 while Philadelphia was 40-42 as both finished well behind NBA champion Boston in the Atlantic division last season. But the additions of Brand to Philadelphia and O’Neal to Toronto figure to make the Atlantic much more competitive in 2008-09.

While Brand is expected to become the focal point for Philadelphia offensively, O’Neal is only being counted on to complement Bosh in the inside. We are pretty excited to see how these two work together and the potential is great for some real domination.

Bosh flourished against Philadelphia last season, averaging 21.5 points on 53.1 percent shooting as Toronto won three of four meetings.

Jose Calderon is the man now with no drama thanks to the departure of T.J. Ford. Can the Spanish firecracker improve on  8.3 assists per game in 2007-08?

Our take: As hard as it is to say, the Raps will lose tonight but cover the spread. At least they can go out and party with the Phillies who will put an end to the World Series.

Here is what other Raptor fans are saying

Doug Smith’s blog - And away we go….
Raptors Republic - Introduces the opening tip.
Raptors Talk - First up 76ers.
Raptors HQ - Game day preview
Raptorsblog - Scott shares the conclusion of his NBA League Pass broadband saga.

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