- Record: 38-24 (7-3)
- Eastern (4)
- Central (2)
Ranks
- 110.6 ORTG (4)
- 106.1 DRTG (18)
- 92.4 Pace (24)
- 74.2 DRB% (17)
- 0.551 TS% (5)
Latest Results
Leaders
- LeBron James 26.2 ppg
- Kevin Love 10.2 rpg
- LeBron James 7.2 apg
- Timofey Mozgov 1.7 bpg
- J.R. Smith 1.8 spg
- Record: 38-22 (5-5)
- Eastern (2)
- Atlantic (1)
Ranks
- 110.8 ORTG (3)
- 106.6 DRTG (20)
- 93.3 Pace (19)
- 73.3 DRB% (23)
- 0.55 TS% (6)
Latest Results
Leaders
- DeMar DeRozan 18.3 ppg
- Jonas Valanciunas 8.7 rpg
- Kyle Lowry 7 apg
- James Johnson 1.2 bpg
- Kyle Lowry 1.5 spg
After LeBron’s Cavs lost to the Heat on his return to Miami on Christmas day, Cleveland was sitting in the 5th spot in the East and there was a rumour that LeBron had said to Dwyane Wade, his former teammate, that if things didn’t get better with the Cavs that he would return to the Heat. They both denied this, but it spoke to the state of LeBron’s present team.
During the offseason, when he returned to Cleveland to great fanfare and then the team traded for Kevin Love, many had them pencilled in as the Eastern Conference representatives in the Finals in June. By Christmas, though, there were a lot of doubts about the Cavs’ future. The loss against the Heat was followed by the Cavs going 2-9 and falling to .500, a game behind Milwaukee and just ahead of his old team Miami, in the standings. Many questioned whether trading for Kevin Love was a mistake, especially considering how well Andrew Wiggins is playing in Minnesota.
While Christmas Day wasn’t a good day for LeBron and the Cavs, things couldn’t have looked rosier in Toronto. The Raptors were sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings, half a game ahead of the surprising Atlanta Hawks and on pace to win 62 games.
Things have changed quite a bit for both teams since then.
The Cavs have gone 19-4 in their last 23 games and a win against the Raptors would put them in a virtual tie with Toronto and Chicago for second place in the East.
Meanwhile, while the Raptors have not been a disaster since Christmas, they’ve certainly struggled. Their win Monday against Philadelphia gave them a .500 record in 2015 and they’re now in danger of dropping to the fourth seed (thankfully, with their Atlantic Division lead secure, fourth is as low as they will fall). Only Washington has had a worse turnaround than Toronto since New Year’s.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
When Will Kyle Lowry Play Again?
Lowry has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury, and at the time I write this, it’s unknown whether he will play tonight. A better question than “will he play”, is whether or not it would help. As has been discussed at length, Lowry has struggled mightily in 2015 and that’s coincided with the team’s struggles. To make things more complicated, Greivis Vasequez has actually outperformed Lowry since New Year’s and it will be interesting to see if the team starts to play better the longer Lowry sits out.
Lowry is in uncharted territory for him. He’s an All Star and for the first time he’s considered the team’s present and future at point guard. It was unreasonable to think he could keep up the level of play we saw from him in December, but his poor play hasn’t seen any signs of recovering, and it’s likely the Raptor’s coaches and head office hope the time off will help. We’ll see, since the Raptor’s success has been so closely tied to Lowry’s play.
Should Valanciunas’ Role Be Increased?
Raptors Republic’s own Andrew Thompson wrote a fantastic article last week that took a look at the curious case of Jonas Valanciunas, and I highly recommend reading it. With the Raptors in a slump, it might be time for Casey to try and experiment a little and perhaps expand Valanciunas’ role, especially on offense.
Despite what it may seem, Valanciunas does play in the fourth quarter a pretty average amount for his position around the league. In fact, he plays the same amount in the fourth quarter as Andrew Bogut and more than Omer Asik, Marcin Gortat and Kevin Garnett. It would be nice, however, to see him play more while the Raptors try and find their way.
Has Kevin Love Finally Found His Groove?
When Love was traded to Cleveland, it seemed like a match made in heaven. The thought of him running pick and rolls with LeBron gave the rest of the league nightmares, but he never seemed to fit in and look comfortable on Cleveland as the team struggled. His three point shooting, which was supposed to help open up the middle, didn’t seem to make the trip over from Minnesota and his defense was even worse than advertised.
Love’s certainly not playing at the level expected still, but he’s shooting much better and his defense has been slightly less horrible in the last month. If the Cavs really want to contend this year, then Love has to play at a level at least similar level as he did in Minnesota.
BREAKDOWN
Starters
LeBron, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving are all playing at a higher level than anyone on the Raptors.
Edge: Cavs
Bench
Cleveland has more playoff experience on their bench than the Raptors have on the entire team, and the addition of Kendrick Perkins gives them a tough post presence and another player with a ring. Along with that experience, they have a few young players, including Canada’s own Tristan Thompson, who give them a boost as well. The Raptors have more firepower, but the Cavs are actually a little deeper, as long as everyone is healthy.
Edge: Cavs
Coaching
David Blatt was a risky and somewhat surprising hire considering the fact that Cleveland had already signed planned on signing LeBron. Most thought Cleveland would choose a more established coach and one who had experience coaching in the NBA. Blatt had a great reputation in Europe, but most realized there would be a steep learning curve transitioning to the NBA. He brought with him a European-style motion offensive that was in-vogue after the Spurs romping the Heat in the Finals. That seemed to be abandoned quickly, as Cleveland sputtered out of the gate.
It’s still difficult to tell whether Blatt has what it takes to stay as a head coach in the NBA, which is also true for Dwane Casey, who fans are already talking about replacing this summer.
Edge: Casey
PREDICTION
While the Cavs are coming off back to back losses 1-2 in their last three, the loss against Indiana was without LeBron and Sunday’s loss against Houston was a nail-biter in overtime that could have gone either way. These are two teams that seem to be headed in two different directions and even at full strength, this would be a tough matchup for the Raptors. Without Lowry, and without him playing like he was in December, it’s difficult to imagine the Raptors pulling out a win, on this one.
Score: Cavs 101 – Raptors 97
