Raptors will know to watch out for Drummond in regular-season opener: When the Raptors open the regular season next Wednesday against Detroit, one of the key goals will be to limit how often all-star centre Andre Drummond gets the ball. That’s easier said then done, since Drummond is right near the top of the list when it comes to the planet’s best examples of size, speed, strength and athleticism all in one package. Drummond had 16 points and 13 rebounds against the Raptors during Wednesday’s pre-season loss a couple of days after hitting all of his shot attempts against Milwaukee and the man who averaged 16.2 points and 13.8 rebounds a year ago has averaged 14.6 boards in the pre-season, easily tops in the league. -- Toronto Sun

In one way, Raptors pre-season was a big disappointment: What did we learn in the six games already? Not an awful lot. The two enduring stories – and they really and truly aren’t that hugely important – remain basically unsolved. There was no clear-cut winner in the competition to play consistent backup minutes at centre and I do imagine Dwane will mix and match with both Lucas Nogueira and Jakob Poeltl depending on the opponent and the nighty needs. And as for the 15th man, I suppose the job is still Fred VanVleet's to lose but it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they didn’t go with a small forward in that role, perhaps even someone who comes on the market this weekend. -- Toronto Star

Raptors miss Bismack Biyombo most when playing Pistons, Heat: It was about 25 seconds into the game — a pre-season one, remember — when Andre Drummond set the tone for the night. The Detroit Pistons centre saw Toronto Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry enter into the paint and got protective of his house. Drummond swatted Lowry’s shot back and crushed the point guard, sending him to the court with an Iversonian-like splat, his right elbow breaking the fall. -- Toronto Star