In the game last Friday against the Cavs, the Raptors faced a Cleveland team that looked very little like the one that started the season 5-7. Moving LeBron to the point guard position and Kyrie Irving off the ball turned this team around and they haven’t lost since, including a relatively easy win against the Toronto. Including last night’s demolishing of the Nets, that’s seven wins in a row, with an average point differential of 16 points.
In that game, Toronto’s own Tristan Thomson had a career night, scoring 21 point and grabbing 14 rebounds, 5 more than Jonas Valanciunas and Amir Johnson combined. Amir did score a season high 27 points on 11-15 scoring, though, and was one of the main reasons the Raptors were in it at all. Kyle Lowry scored 22 points but took 18 shots to do it. He also dished out 9 assists, despite the entire team shooting just a shade over 40%.
While the Cavs have definitely been winning, and often winning big, there’s still room for improvement. Shawn Marion has certainly made an impact defensively, but he’s yet to find his groove offensively, shooting just 45% (on the low end for Marion) and scoring in double figures just three times this year. Once he starts to figure out what he needs to do, the Cavs will be that much better. And the offense still relies a bit too much on heroics rather than ball and player movement. Kyrie Irving has certainly been lighting it up, averaging 22 points per game, but he’s still forcing way too many shots, especially considering who his teammates are. That will change as he starts to realize he’s teammates he can and should pass to this season. And then the Cavs will be a truly dangerous team.
After last night’s overtime win against the Nuggets means that the Raptors still have some breathing room at the top of the Eastern Conference, but not much. While the Cavs haven’t lost in seven games, the Raptors are 4-3 in their last seven after starting the season 13-2.
As I mentioned last week, the Raptors still have a few areas that need to improve, and one of them is passing. While the Cavs are ranked just 15th in the league defensively, they’ve improved quite a bit in that area during their winning streak. Against the Cavs, the Raptors scored just 91 points, which was a season low. They’re going to have to move the ball against the Cavs tonight if they want to get out of Cleveland with a win.
The Raptors’ trouble with stopping drives could also be a problem against a Cavs team with three players (LeBron, Irving and Dion Waiters) who can seemingly get to the rim at will. One of the reasons Thompson had such a big game was because those three players drew the defense and Thompson was there to clean up the mess.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
Will Valanciunas Find His Rhythm?
Valanciunas has really struggled to find any consistency this season. He scored 18 points and grabbed 12 boards last night against Denver, but notched just 16 and 8 in the previous two. In fact, he’s yet to rack up two consecutive double doubles this season and has only had two consecutive games where he had double figure rebounds.
Valanciunas has generally played pretty well against the team that passed on him to draft Tristan Thompson, who badly outplayed him in their last matchup, so he will be well motivated.
Will We See A Big Game From Waiters?
I’ve never been much of a fan of Waiters, as he’s a bit of a chucker who plays defense like it’s an afterthought, but he can score. And after his name has come up in trade rumours (with Memphis, involving Kosta Koufas), he went off for 26 last night and is the type of player that likes to make statements.
Is This Going To Be A Bounce Back Game For Lowry?
Last night against Denver, Lowry scored just 13 points on 13 shots after averaging 28.4 ppg over his previous five games and getting Eastern Conference Player of the Week honours. The loss on Friday will be fresh in Lowry’s mind, as will his poor shooting night last night. That’s either good or bad, depending if Lowry tries to force it too much.
BREAKDOWN
STARTERS
The Cavs have LeBron, Kevin Love, who made the All NBA second team, and Kyrie Irving, who won the All Star MVP last season. And Varejao and Marion are defensive first players who will do all the little things to win.
The Raptors have a talented starting lineup, but they simply don’t compare to the Cavs.
Edge: Cavs
BENCH
The Raptors have one of the deeper teams in the league, but without DeRozan, it’s a little shorter. Lou Williams has been huge for the Raptors this season and Patrick Patterson has scored double figures in five of their last six games, including a huge three pointer against Denver last night.
Tristan Thompson has adjusted to coming off the bench and is scoring efficiently and making a big impact on the boards. Waiters has the potential to be a Lou Williams-like scorer off the bench, but has struggled to find a niche coming off the bench.
Edge: Raptors
COACHING
David Blatt had a great reputation in Europe and actually did a better job than Erik Spoelstra did trying to figure out how to get Miami’s big three to learn how to win. Moving LeBron to the point so far has looked like stroke of genius, and he’s gotten Irving to actually try on defense, for the first time in his NBA career.
Edge: Even
PREDICTION
The Cavs may be due for a loss, but they’re playing too well right now, and the Raptors are struggling, so it’s likely LeBron and company will win number eight tonight. Plus, the Cavs are simply not a good matchup for the Raptors, especially right now.
Score: Cavs 112 – Raptors 98
