VANCOUVER - RJ Barrett woke up early on Monday morning.

The prospect of once again playing a competitive NBA game spurred too much excitement for the Raptors star to sleep in.

"Man, I haven't played a game since, like, April," Barrett said after morning shoot-around at Vancouver's Rogers Arena.

The Raptors are on the West Coast for their first pre-season game against the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.

"It's just pre-season, but I'm excited to just play a game, play against somebody else, other than each other," Barrett said. "We've been kind of beating each other up all summer, all pre-season."

Toronto is looking to start strong after finishing last season with a 30-52 record and missing the playoffs.

Barrett, who hails from Mississauga, Ont., led the team with 21.1 points per game

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