Suffice to say, things didn't end so well with the Toronto Raptors for former No. 1 pick Andrea Bargnani. After a promising start to his NBA career, Bargnani fell into a rut of injuries and inconsistent play that made him into somewhat of a villain in Toronto.
NBA preseason schedule: Andrea Bargnani returns to Toronto as Knicks take on Raptors
Things ended poorly for Bargnani in Toronto, and the big Italian makes his debut there as a member of the Knicks on Friday.
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Now with the New York Knicks, Bargnani is hoping for a fresh start. Bargnani had an uneven Knicks debut on Wednesday, notching 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting and 0-of-3 from three-point range. The 27-year-old did make up for his sub-par shooting by going 6-of-6 from the charity stripe.
On Friday night, Bargnani will return to the place he called home for his first seven NBA seasons as the Knicks take on the Raptors. The Toronto crowd is sure to let Bargnani hear it, and he’ll have to do his best to tune out the heckling.
In other news on the Knicks front, coach Mike Woodson said Thursday that Pablo Prigioni will once again get the start over Iman Shumpert, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. This despite Shumpert scoring 18 points on a perfect 7-of-7 from the field on Wednesday night.
Besides Knicks and Raptors, there are four other NBA preseason games on Friday night, although none are all that notable. The Miami Heat will be in action again, with a tilt against the Charlotte Bobcats in Kansas City on the docket. Two rebuilding squads in the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers will do battle in Newark, while Kyrie Irving and the Cleveland Cavaliers will face Victor Oladipo and the Orlando Magic. Later in the night out west, the Portland Trail Blazers play the Utah Jazz in Boise.
Here’s the full schedule for Friday (all times Eastern):
New York Knicks at Toronto Raptors, 7 p.m.
Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers, 7 p.m. (in Newark)
Cleveland Cavaliers at Orlando Magic, 7 p.m., NBA TV
Charlotte Bobcats at Miami Heat, 8:30 p.m. (in Kansas City)
Utah Jazz at Portland Trail Blazers, 9 p.m. (in Boise)
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