The Wizards will make a trip north of the border to start the preseason.
The Washington Wizards are back to playing basketball after a 6 month (!) break. Boy, isn’t it nice to be on the Wizards payroll! Now they hit the road and they’re going to pack their passports for this trip – the first stop is Montreal where they scrimmage against the Raptors.
Game Info
When: Sunday, Oct. 6, at 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
How to watch: MSN, TSN for English in Canada, RDS2 for French in Canada
Injury Report
Wizards: Saddiq Bey (Out)
Raptors: Immanuel Quickley, Scottie Barnes, Bruce Brown, Ja’Kobe Walter, Gradey Dick (Game-Time-Decision)
Pregame notes
On the road again, running it back — I guess it’s that time of year. The Wizards are again talking about a culture build, the young talent they are excited to develop, yada yada yada. Where does that really leave fans? Not clear. On the other hand, the Raptors who just five years ago won it all, are also struggling to form a new identity (although it’s not even close to the lamentable state of the Wizards).
What’s more, the Wizards just came off of an ugly summer where they threatened to leave D.C. after receiving years of government support, further questioning the local fans’ loyalty to the ball club that does not seem to be all that loyal in return. Throw into the mix the preseason posters across the city that feature prominently Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma, and Coulibaly, but Kispert is nowhere to be seen, albeit being around for longer than all three of the above. (Yes, I know Kuzma joined in 2021, but only in August, and Kispert was drafted already in June.)
Where does that leave us? Well, let’s be patient and see how this `exciting’ season plays out.
Ouais, les équipes jouent à Montréal (Yeah the teams are playing in Montreal) — The Raptors aren’t just Toronto’s NBA team. They are Canada’s (and arguably the non-Americans’ world’s) NBA team as well. And the Raptors have played preseason games in other Canadian cities, including Montreal, which is in French speaking Quebec.
The venue for tomorrow, the Bell Centre, is one of the largest arenas in the NHL. It is the home of the Canadiens with a seating capacity of over 21,000 people for hockey. Since this is a basketball game, over 22,000 people could be in attendance tomorrow night.
Since the Wizards have three Francophone players in Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George, perhaps they may speak to the fans tonight before tipoff.
Join Matt Modderno and other Wizards content creators for a live pregame show tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. EST time prior to tip-off.