The Cavs are 3-2, and the Raptors should be 3-2; this is going to be an interesting season to say the least. The other night I had a thought that really made me uncomfortable; what if the Raptors win more games than they should? There are already lots of interesting themes developing (insider required). Couple that with the number of absolutely brutal teams there are in the east, and the solid effort being turned in so far game after game, and you could make the case that the Raptors could surprise and over achieve this season; jeopardizing their lottery status in the summer.

I know there are positives to both sides of this coin, but I’d rather grab at least one more solid draft pick, then try to make a run at things; need as many horses as you can get.

The Cavs frontcourt kept them in the game against the Raptors on opening night, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds, but an even attack from the Raptors spurred by ball movement (35 assists) and solid defensive rotations were more than they could handle.

Match-ups

Point Guard
Irving showed signs of promise, but he’s just not ready to be handed the reigns just yet. Sessions hurt the Raptors with his dribble penetration and three point shooting; nothing from mid-range. Calderon needs to close-out on him faster, and force him into a waiting defender. Same thing with Gibson, except I’d he’s less of a threat to get to the rack. Bayless will be a game-time decision, but the Raptors could use some of his off the bounce attack to mix things up and keep the Cavs defense guessing. Anthony Carter will be counted on to provide spurts of solid relief. I’m the first to admit I was wrong about his effectiveness; a couple minutes here and there is doable for the guy.
Edge: Raptors

Shooting Guard
Every Time DeRozan took the ball to the rim, he either scored or got put on the line. The Cavs don’t have the shot blocking ability to challenge DeMar when he gets to the rim. He has to keep on attacking Anthony Parker, who just doesn’t have  the foot speed to keep up. Barbosa will do the same to Gibson, who I can’t recall doing anything of value in the first game.
Edge: Raptors

Small Forward
Butler and Johnson did a good job of keeping Casspi off the board, and he hasn’t done much this season since, but  some guy named Alonzo Gee stepped up for the Cavs. With the performances that Butler has turned in the last games, the small forward spot is stabilizing some. As long as whoever is manning the 3-spot puts defense first, and tries to avoid taking retarded shots, the Raptors should do well.
Edge: Even

Power Forward
A repeat performance from Jamison would go a long way tonight; Bargnani and Davis kept Antawn to 6-20 shooting from the field. Bargnani couldn’t find his shot last week against the Cavs, but has since remedied that. With him going to the rack as often as he’s popping jumpers, he will be putting a lot of pressure on the Cavs frontcourt to step-up. The Raptors would have the frontcourt locked if Ed Davis would just come back. Since his solid performance against the Cavs last week, the sophomore has all but vanished. He could find his game tonight against the only team he’s played well against this season; I hope anyways. It was great to see Tristan Thompson play well, and he’s done a pretty good job so far considering, but the Cavs overstepped in taking him 4th with Valanciunas and Vesely on the board.
Edge: Raptors

Center
I foolishly didn’t give the Cavs the edge at center last game, and was proved wrong. Varejao still has a great deal to offer, putting up 14pts 10rebs (7 offensive) almost single handedly keeping the Cavs hanging around and in the game. Things have looked downhill for Amir since the first two games of the season, and there wasn’t much there for Magloire to begin with. Varejao will do his best to keep them in the game, but the Cavs have less talent than the Raptors.
Edge: Cavaliers

The Line

The gamblers have the Raptors as 4 point favourites, with an over/under of 190. The Cavs and Raptors have found themselves to be in an interesting situation so far this season. Both are doing better than expected, and playing hard. The Cavs took advantage of an easier schedule, beating the Pistons, Nets and Bobcats. The Raptors on the other hand should be 3-2 heading into tonight’s game. Bet the line; Raptors win 92-86.

Can’t knock the hustle, as long as they keep playing hard that is. This is the 1st game in a season of opportunities at changing this teams culture, perception and attitude. From the rise of Bargnani, to tight(ish) defensive rotations, to Calderon giving a rest to the clapping hands-defense, things are on the up-and-up. This season wont be defined by wins or losses; it’s all about step one, and that tone will need to be set against the Cavs tonight.

(I’m still stunned that two pre-season games and a handful of interviews with Casey have changed my view of this team for the better)

Match-ups

Point Guard
As bad as Calderon was defensively, there were always guys who made him look like Gary Payton; Ramon Sessions is one of those guys. The guy can’t move laterally (zero pick-and-roll defense), is not much of an athlete, but manages to do most of his offensive damage in the paint. His jumper isn’t great, so Calderon can afford to play off of him a bit, and force him to beat the Raps with a jumper; I can live with that strategy even if he drops 20 in the process. Keeping him off the pick-n-roll, where he can do more damage, is paramount.
Edge: Raptors

Shooting Guard
Anthony Parker is still the starter for the Cavs, but they are pretty deep at the 2 (Boobie off the bench). DeMar should have no problem’s whatsoever with anyone the Cavs throw at him. I’m cutting this short, between DeRozan, Barbosa and Butler, the Raptors have the depth and the ability to throw enough different looks at the Cavs to keep them off balance the whole night.
Edge: Raptors

Small Forward
Omri Casspi is someone I would have loved the Raptors to pick up in the off-season, and it didn’t cost the Cavs much; JJ Hickson. We could have easily have made a similar offer of Amir Johnson had we known Aaron Gray was in the play fo us. Regardless, he will give James Johnson a hell of a time on the floor. He is a solid rebounder, and makes his jumpers; keeping Johnson out on the perimeter and a step further from swatting his weak-side blocked shots.
Edge: Cavs

Power Forward
Don’t know enough about Thompson and Harangody to really give my two cents here, but Jamison will drop his 18pts/7reb tonight, I have no doubt. That said, he will surrender 24pts/8rebs on the other end, take that how you will. The 36 year old will hit a couple annoying off-balance floaters that somehow hit the bottom of the mesh, but will provide little value other than being a mentor for Tristan. I like Bargnani and Davis in the match-up as they both will give a little flavour on the perimeter and in the paint.
Edge: Raptors

Center
Varejao has the ability to do nothing the entire game, then grab an offensive rebound and put it back for the win with less than a second left on the clock. I would love to have him play for the Raptors. I think he would be fantastic to lineup with Bargnani in the front court as he can make a lot of hustle plays and win small battles all over the floor. I don’t see this game being won by Cavs at the 5, at best, they draw even with the Raptors centers…that’s just me (Varejao missed most of last season with an injury)
Edge: Raptors

The Line

I was stunned to see it, but Vegas has the Cavs as 3.5 point favourites with an over/under of 197. It’s super unlikely that this game will be in the mid-to high 90s, so go with the under. I personally think the Raptors take this by 5 in an ugly win. Of the first 10 games we play this year, 3 of them are winnable (two against the Cavs), while this team probably wont win 30% of their games this year, 3-7 in the early going is doable.

Hopefully league pass broadband works tonight, Arse has the post-game.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

The Raptors are 3 games out of last place in the East, and 3 games out of a playoff spot. Say what you want about this lot, but they play hard and give a lot of effort considering the talent level. It’s been quite some time since I’ve been able to watch them lose games and not question their heart.

The Cavs on the other hand have been utterly brutal. They are 1-17 in their last 18 games; they lost 10 in a row, beat the Knicks in overtime then lost 7 in a row heading into tonights game. To say this is a shell of a team is an understatement. That first game against the Heat was one of the most disappointing things I’ve ever watched. Sure, injuries have played a role on this team this season, but they have some talented vets and a couple youngish players; so they should be at least playing with some heart.

The last time these guys played, Sonny Weems had this to say after the game:

We weren’t trying to disrespect them, we weren’t trying to humiliate them or nothing, we did that for our fans. You get 100 points, fans get pizza and that’s every game with us.

Needless to say, that game didn’t go well for the Cavs; tonight shouldn’t be any different.

Injuries

Toronto
Reggie Evans – Out
Peja Stojakovic – Out
Sonny Weems – Day to day
Jose Calderon – Day to day

Cleveland
Anderson Varejao – Day to day
Daniel Gibson – Day to day
Mo Williams – Hurting, but should play

Match-ups

Point Guard
You really can’t ask more from Bayless, a career backup who has shown primo flashes during his short tenure as a Raptor (and starter). His speed and ability to penetrate are better suited to coming off the bench, but he’s filled in admirably for an injured Calderon. Last night against the Bulls, he was a beast making great passes and leading the brigade. He ultimately fell short against Rose, but what else did you expect?

Tonights match-up against Williams and Sessions makes me nervous, since the Cavs 1-2 at the point is one of the better combos in the league. Mo has been battling injuries, but has played very well considering he isn’t the kind of player who excels at creating his own shot. What he doesn’t do well is create high-quality scoring opportunities for his teammates, which Ramon does a better job of. If the Raptors fight through the pick-n-roll, and force these two to go it alone, this game is over. What I don’t want to see is Williams or Sessions coming off a high screen with a few options, which should be doable considering this team is brutal. The down-side to this is that both guards can get hot and drop 20 points.
Edge: Cleveland

Shooting Guard
While he didn’t put up the same numbers as the last two games, DeMar, played as well as can be expected with the return of Bargnani to the lineup; in fact, he’s treading the elevated expectation-territory in my books with a weeks worth of great games. I’m hoping that Calderon will meld DeRozan’s and Bargnani’s game’s together more cohesively once he gets back from injury. Triano will need to try something new to ensure both these guys play up to potential at the same time in the same game; I have no bright ideas on how to make this happen though.

Against Parker tonight, I’d like to see DeRozan use his athleticism, get into the lane, and get to the line at least 8 times. Parker wont be able to stop him off the dribble, and the Cavs have nobody to challenge him at the rim.
Edge: Toronto

Small Forward
Unless you’re of the opinion that Jamarion Moon and Stephen Graham are legit, the Cavs have nothing at the 3. While I appreciate Linas’ recent resurgence, the guy hasn’t seen a shot he didn’t like. Far too often the offense breaks down with a Kleiza heave that doesn’t fall with enough consistency for my liking. What I love is how he crashes the boards, especially on the offensive glass; makes like for smaller/weaker 3′s that much harder to check him.

I feel that if we keep talking about Julian Wright, that Triano will play him at some point with some degree of consistency. The guy plays good defense, makes decent decisions, and doesn’t play outside of his comfort zone. What else do you want from a bench player? Seriously, play the guy, it can’t get any worse.
Edge: Toronto

Power Forward
Antwan Jamison has been enjoying a resurgence of sorts; averaging 23pts 6rebs over the last five games. While Hickson has fallen out of favour with Byron Scott, he seems to have found some motivation coming off the bench. The two are a formidable duo to deal with, and have me concerned, as this is a spot where the Cavs can take advantage if Amir Johnson can’t put up something close to 15pts 10rebs. Amir’s play of late has been good, but not what is needed: 9pts 7rebs over the last 5 games (the two games against Houston and Dallas excluded, he played great there).

To his credit, he has been playing like a champ through some injuries, big minutes and very little help in the paint *cough* Ed Davis *cough*. Aside from that monster 17pt 12reb game against the Mavs, Ed hasn’t been providing a whole lot of what is expected, which makes life for Amir that much tougher. Fortunately, Bargnani is back, and will be pulling the guy who is defending him out of the paint, giving Amir more room to operate.
Edge: Cleveland

Center
Bargnani didn’t miss a beat last night after a few games off with injury; it was nice to see him back in action. Varejao is expected to play tonight, returning from injury, but will be fitted with a face mask to protect his broken cheek. Anderson is one of a few centers who has the ability to defend Bargnani all over the floor. With the face injury, he will be less likely to play tough in the block, which is exactly where Bargnani should attack. Where Varejao will hurt Bargnani is on the offensive glass, where his hustle is something Andrea has had problems dealing with in the past. Regardless, Bargnani should own this one.
Edge: Toronto

The Line

The gamblers have the Cavs as 1.5 point favourites with an over/under of 204. Since the game is in Cleveland, this is as close to a push as you can possibly get. I’d bet against that personally.

I’ll say it again, the Cavs are 1-17 in their last 18 games, and currently on a 7 game losing streak. After tonight, they play 10 of their next 13 on the road, so they will be looking to steal this one before heading out on a nasty road swing. They’ve had some injuries to boot, but this is a team that is hurting badly inside. The Raptors need to jump all over them from the tip and not let up one inch. Win the first half, and the Cavs will crumble; that’s got to be the plan.

Through the 90s, the Knicks were my favourite team, and if you liked a tough, bruising team oozing with heart, then they were the team for you. When the Raptors and Knicks were battling in the playoffs, I was never more torn; ultimately I cheered the Raptors, but had the Knicks got through….

While they don’t have great talent to surround LeBron and Bosh (for sake of argument), the team does provide the lure of being a God in New York if someone can deliver a championship. For the record, regardless of what they offer, I’m against any deal with the Knicks since they are a division rival. The last time we did that, we got BURNED in the playoffs; not looking for a repeat.

I spoke to Dan L. from The Knicks Fan Blog about the state of the Knicks, and got some interesting tidbits from him:

Sam Holako: There isn’t much to talk about the Knicks during the regular season since the last couple years has all been about making a run at two max free-agents this summer. Where do you realistically put the Knicks chances of landing LeBron this summer? A sign and trade with the Cavs will prove difficult (what kind of deal do you put together for the MVP?). Also talk about the LeBrostimistic graph you have on your site, I love that thing.

Dan L.: I think it’s impossible to say what the Knicks’ chances are to get LeBron without being part of the “inner circle”. But I think the Knicks have a couple of things working in their favor. One is obviously that the Cavs got spanked so hard by the Celtics. They clearly aren’t a championship caliber team and they’re also ham-strung by salary commitments with the likes of Jamison, Gibson, Varejao, and Mo Williams. They won’t be signing any meaningful free agents.

It is hard to see the Knicks and Cavs pulling off a sign and trade, but it could happen if LeBron told them he’s going to the Knicks anyway and unless they deal they won’t get anything in return. For example the Knicks can offer the Cavs a massive salary cap exception and future picks for LeBron. With that exception the Cavs could hypothetically trade for Elton Brand and the second pick (Evan Turner). Maybe they could even convince the Knicks to part with Wilson Chandler. Mo Williams, Turner, Chandler, Jamison, Brand. I could think of worse teams.

Ha. The LeBroptimism meter right now is at 0 because honestly, I just don’t have any kind of bearing of what LeBron is going to do. He and his team have done a masterful job of keeping everyone in the dark, and there are a lot of teams that have positioned themselves to get LeBron. I think the only realistic options for LeBron if he leaves are the Knicks and Bulls because I’d be shocked if he went somewhere that didn’t have a major media presence. I’d add the Nets to the mix but I think their young talent is vastly overstated. The Knicks’ young talent was better than 12 wins. Also LeBron won’t want to play in Newark, I don’t think.

If I was being completely honest with my own gut, I’d put that LeBroptimism meter somewhat higher than 0.

SH: That would be Step 1; Step 2 would be find a running mate for him. Chris Bosh recently put the Knicks on his wishlist. Make me an offer for him.

DL: he only offer really is David Lee. Not sure what Raptors fans think about Lee but you could do much worse. He’s a terrific rebounder (though he doesn’t get the tough ones) and due to his terrific work ethic he transformed himself into one of the best shooting bigs in the league. He’s also an elite finisher. He can get his shot off in the paint and make it with such frequency that it never ceases to amaze me. You’ll be losing out by trading Bosh but maybe not by as much as you’d think.

The downside for the Raptors is that their biggest weakness is also Lee’s, in that he couldn’t guard a lamp post. A lot of that has to do with the fact that he’s a PF and the Knicks had him at center all year. Still, I’d think that the Raptors want to address their D this summer, and Lee isn’t going to do that.

Financially, Lee is going to make less than Bosh because under the collective bargaining agreement, his max is about $13.5 million. The Raptors would therefore get a trade exception in the deal of about $4 million.

Another option the Raptors could consider is adding Calderon or Turk to the mix and taking back Eddy Curry. This would get the Raptors out from under the cap predicament they put themselves in by next year.

It’s all dependent on what Lee wants though. If he just wants money and the Raptors offer him his max I think he would agree to go to Toronto because he would get bigger raises in a sign and trade. If other factors are more important to him, like staying in the New York area, and the money is similar, I could see him signing with the Nets.

SH: Not sure how Raptor fans would feel about paying Lee $13.5; even though double-double machines are hard to come by, I was thinking a 5yr/$50mill deal. A front court of Bargnani and Lee would be the worse defensive unit in the league, potentially, but Lee is one of the better players we could hope for in a sign-and-trade.

Interesting you bring up a Calderon/Turkoglu swap for Curry. What is Curry’s status? Can he be looked too to play 20minutes a night? He’s still pretty young, and has great size/athleticism (well he did). I’m assuming with the financial problems he’s said to be having, that he will at least be motivated to play harder for the next contract.

DL: I’d think that Lee is going to get more than $10 million on the market this summer. But I guess that remains to be seen.

You’re right about the raptors defense. They’d have to slide Bargs over to the 3 and find a way to get a defensive 5.

That’s not Eddy Curry, even if healthy. The potential Curry deal would be solely a salary dump for the Raptors. Knicks fans have been waiting for the old Curry to come back for over 2 years. The fact is that he’s played only a handful of games in each of the last two seasons and just doesn’t seem interested in playing basketball.

You’re right that Curry SHOULD be motivated in a contract year. But I’d be shocked if he had the desire to. And even if he did, I’d be doubly shocked if he stayed healthy.

SH: I want to examine something you said about Calderon or Turkoglu for Curry. Even if the Knicks somehow manage to get LeBron and Bosh, they would still need to have people around them to you know, play basketball at an NBA level. In the worse case scenario that they don’t land anyone in the summer to line up beside those two, what will this team look like?

DL: Honestly I think that’s an issue that the national media has drummed up in their echo chamber because they are biased against New York (true New York perspective here, huh?).

The team WILL have players on it. Obviously Turkoglu or Calderon could be one of those other players. If not, the Knicks should try to move Curry for another team’s expensive mistake, like Ben Gordon, Rip Hamilton or Corey Maggette.

But let’s look at who is on the team right now. Danilo Gallinari played essentially his rookie year last year since he missed most of his first season with a back injury. He only finished second in the NBA in three pointers made. Folks in the national media have called him a “one-trick pony” but those of us who watch the Knicks every game know that he’s much more than that. Even the most negative tabloid beat writers like the New York Post’s Marc Berman jumped on the Gallinari bandwagon by the end of the year. He’s a terrific passer, and has a great basketball IQ, and most surprisingly, was probably the Knicks best defender last year other than Jarred Jeffries, both on the ball and in help.

Wilson Chandler is another player that most people who don’t follow the Knicks tend to ignore. It’s because he’s very quiet and unassuming. My opinion is that he doesn’t have star potential like Gallinari does, but there are observers who disagree. At the very least though he plays D, has a great mid-range game, and is a superb finisher.

Toney Douglas inexplicably failed to get off of Mike D’Antoni’s bench for most of the year but when D’Antoni finally let him play the Knicks what I like to say resembled a young Gary Payton. Douglas is very disruptive on the defensive end, is a very good shooter from distance, and LOVES the ball at the end of games. He’s very clutch.

These were 3 very young and/or inexperienced players but all of them have a world of potential. Importantly, they’re all very good fits with LeBron. Gallinari will can countless open jumpers off LeBron drives, and Wilson will get plenty of open looks slashing off of those same drives. Douglas will also knock down open shots and defend the perimeter, but more importantly, both he and Gallinari will take the pressure off LeBron at the end of games, which seems to be an issue for the King. It’s a good starting 5.

Aside from those 3 the Knicks have Bill Walker, who, after the trade deadline really came into his own for the Knicks. He has great range and shoots a high percentage. He’s also extremely athletic and can jump out of the gym. Finally, where Chandler doesn’t really read the defense, instead focusing on just making one on one moves to get open, Walker knows where to be on the court to space the floor and get open looks for himself both inside and out.

The Knicks also have 2 second round draft picks.

Finally, if the Knicks are able to land the big stars, look for some veteran players to sign on for cheap for a chance at the title. For example, PJ Brown signed with Boston for the minimum to win a ring. Same with Michael Finley.

I expect the Knicks to be able to round out their roster in a similar way.

SH: I’m actually pretty high on Chandler. I’ve seen quite a few Knicks games, and the kid is nice (Gallinari too). If LeBosh doesn’t pan out for the Knicks, would a Joe Johnson/Boozer/Stoudemire combination satisfy Knicks fans? The team obviously wouldn’t be a championship contender (the best they could hope for is the Hawks), but they would be in the high 40s in terms of wins and MAYBE a second round appearance.

DL: hose guys obviously represent the second tier of free agents. They’d improve the Knicks vastly but I wouldn’t be too thrilled about it. That’s particularly true because I assume those guys would be getting the max (or something close) and I don’t think they’re worth it.

It’s not the first choice and there are some fans who go by the mantra “LeBron or bust”. Not me though. I think Donnie Walsh had to take his best shot at building a dynasty. It might not work out that way but the idea was the right idea. Either way the Knicks will be much improved, even if they don’t get LeBron.

Since I have nothing better to do than think up scenarios, I’ve previously written that there are other options available besides just free agents. The Knicks could look at Tony Parker, for example. A trade of Chandler, Curry and Douglas for Parker, RJ and McDyess would make some sense if the Knicks also landed Amare. Parker, RJ (who plays better in an open system), Gallinari, McDyess, Amare, with enough flexibility to sign Melo in ’11.

Another example is a trade of Curry for Biedrins or Maggette and Anthony Randolph, while re-signing Lee and signing Joe Johnson. You’d have Tony Douglas, Johnson, Gallinari, Lee and Randolph/Biedrins. Not too shabby in my opinion, and a team that can grow better over the next few years. Not a title contender though, and you’d lose your ’11 flexibility, which I’d like to see the Knicks keep if they lose out on the big names.

My life just got 30% better with the season starting today. The Raptors host the Cavs, who just came off a 95-89 loss at the hands of the C**tics last night. Seeing Anthony Parker in a Cavs uniform was unsettling for me. For those of you who didn’t want the guy back, just remember, he is starting for a team that has their designs on a championship, dude can play.

A few things happened in that game that has me feeling good about the Raptors chances of winning tonight:

• First of all, the Cavs look lost offensively with LeBron on the bench. They have no one to carry the load, no one! LeBron only sat 3 minutes, dude played 45 minutes on opening night, this shouldn’t bode too well for them.
• Shaq out gunning on all cylinders, but that didn’t last too long. By the 3rd quarter, he looked old and slow(er then usual).
• No Delonte West

Matchups

Calderon vs Williams
We finally have an injury free Calderon, who looked better as the pre-season went on. With some of creating burden being passed on to Hedo, Calderon should be good to spot up for some open 3s. Williams isn’t much of a defender, and considering he played 35 minutes last night, he wont be playing as aggressively as Mike Brown would want him too. He will be attacking Calderon on offense, but the two should cancel each other out.
The Edge: Even

Parker vs DeRozan
Parker is one of my favourite Raptors of all time. It was good to see him play well along side LeBron last night, but he played 40 minutes. He didn’t shoot great from the field (3-9), but he hit some timely 3s and some solid defense on Ray Allen. He now has to chase DeRozan up and down the court on the second night of a back-to-back. DeRozan needs to attack him from the tip, and keep going at him. This could be a long night for Parker in his return to the ACC.
The Edge: Even*

Turkoglu vs LeBron
Doesn’t matter how good Turkoglu plays, LeBron is LeBron. In 45min last night, LeBron dropped 38pts 4rebs 8ast. You can’t beat that. You only hope that Turkoglu gives up more jumpers then drives. If he can keep him out of the lane, and force LeBron to shoot deep jumpers, I can live with whatever happens.
The Edge: LeBron

Bosh vs Varejao
We know how this will turn out, Bosh will win the overall match-up, but Varejao will win every single hustle play. The guy leads the league in ran down rebounds (errr, yea, he runs down rebounds more then anyone else). He isn’t a threat to score, but that doesn’t mean Bosh should ignore him. The guy is the consummate garbage man. It will be a long night for him though, Bosh looks good to start his max-year campaign tonight.
The Edge: Bosh

Bargnani vs Shaq
Shaq can’t cover Bargnani on defense, and Bargnani can’t cover Shaq either. This match-up comes down to who is going to grab more rebounds, and play better defense. Bargnani should have the advantage, as he will force Shaq out from the key on defense, opening up some space to maneuver. Should Shaq cover Bosh on defense, the same situation will happen as Bosh likes to play from 18ft in. Factor in Shaq played 30min last night, and looked worse as the game dragged on.
The Edge: Bargnani

Bench
With Delonte West not even wearing Sean John on the sidelines, the Cavs have a pretty bad bench. Amir Johnson will neutralize Ilgauskas, Jack will neutralize Boobie, Wright will own Moon. In fact, looking at the Cavs bench, I am hard-pressed to think how this is a championship calibre team, they need to get healthy quick!
The Edge: Raptors

Injury Report

Raptors
Reggie Evans

Cavaliers
Daniel Green
Leon Powe
Delonte West

The Line

The line is set at Cavs -5.5 with an over/under of 191.

Game Simulation

This is a new feature we are running with this season, our boy Jeremy Visser from That’s What I’m Saying, Guy… will drop a simulation every game-day with complete boxscores and highlights. You can hit him up on twitter @jeremy_visser. We’ll be keeping track of them here.

LeBron James led the way for Cleveland in the NBA 2k10 opener, recording a triple-double (28 points, 13 boards and 16 assists) to lead the Cavs past the Raptors 117-98. Toronto hung tough, trailing by just six points entering the fourth quarter, before King James & co. put them away with a late run.

Andrea Bargnani led the Raptors with 20 points and nine rebounds. Chris Bosh, limited all night by foul trouble, finished with 19 in just 19 minutes. Hedo Turkoglu struggled in his debut with Toronto, finishing with 10 points of 4-of-14 shooting.

Aside from James, the Cavs got a strong performance from all-star Mo Williams, who scored 29 and added six assists. Shaquille O’Neal scored 19 in his second game as a Cav.

Boxscore

Keys to Winning

• Hit the glass – the Cavs have an active front court, and need to be containted
• Limit LeBron – easier said then done, but if we can limit his options, and make him beat us one-on-one on every possession, will get hard to carry the load
• Pick-n-Roll – I know I don’t have to say it, cause that’s all the Raptors do, but between Shaq and Ilgauskas, the PNR defense is wanting.

Prediction

The Cavs will be tired, but pissed off. The Raptors don’t play defense like the C**tics, but if they can run the Cavs around, and not let up, it will be a long night for the LeBron et al. I called a Raptor win earlier in the summer, and unless LeBron drops 50, I like the Raptors to represent.

Catch us tonight on live chat.