  | D. Carroll 36 MIN | 2-7 FG | 2-4 3FG | 2-2 FT | 6 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | -6 +/-Wasn’t a memorable performance for the most part for Carroll. Hit a couple big threes in the second quarter, but otherwise, couldn’t create much offense, and had a lot of trouble defensively with LeBron’s size and speed. With this matchup being such a big part of why the Raptors got Carroll, you’d like to see him slow down LeBron at least a little bit more than he did. | |
  | P. Siakam 15 MIN | 2-4 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 4 PTS | -7 +/-Rough outing for the rookie. He continues to be active and work really hard, but the Cavs attacked him with Kevin Love early and often, and had success doing so. Love is a savvy veteran at this point in his career, and it’d be a tough ask for any rookie to handle him. His lack of polish offensively also allowed the Cavaliers to ignore him on that end, which created a clogged floor for the Raptors. | |
  | J. Valanciunas 31 MIN | 5-15 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 17 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 3 TO | 10 PTS | -11 +/-The Raptors went to Jonas early again tonight and had mixed results doing so. He missed some easily makeable shots, but I can’t be too critical because he dominated on the boards, both offensive and defensive, and it felt like at points during the night the Raptors went away from him too much. He was caught helping out of position a couple times on defense. Had position on an offensive rebound with the game tied late, was taken to the floor and there was no call, he then was slow to get up and argued with the refs, causing him to be late getting back on the game-deciding three from Kyrie Irving. | |
 | K. Lowry 39 MIN | 5-16 FG | 1-5 3FG | 6-7 FT | 2 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 6 TO | 17 PTS | -9 +/-There was a lot of good from Lowry tonight, he hit a couple big shots, drew some big offensive fouls, but in a game like this against the defending champions we expect KLOE, and didn’t get that tonight. I’m not sure if his health isn’t 100%, but he just hasn’t been the same dominant player we saw last year through two games. | |
  | D. DeRozan 38 MIN | 12-28 FG | 0-1 3FG | 8-8 FT | 7 REB | 2 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 32 PTS | +0 +/-There are definitely some things you could criticize about DeMar’s game tonight, he lost JR Smith in the corner at one point, he tried to play one-man basketball often, and he had an awful stretch during the second quarter. On the other hand, he dropped 32 points, giving him 72 through two games, and hit some ridiculous shots. He also had one of the most impressive posterizations I’ve ever seen in game, throwing it down over Tristan Thompson late. | |
 | P. Patterson 34 MIN | 2-6 FG | 1-5 3FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 5 PTS | +2 +/-Patterson often has games where he does a lot of great things that just don’t show up on the scoresheet. Tonight he did some of those things, including having a solid stretch guarding LeBron, but the Raptors needed him to hit some shots tonight and he just didn’t come through, including missing a backbreaking three that would’ve tied the game late. | |
  | T. Ross 14 MIN | 0-2 FG | 0-1 3FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 0 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | +0 +/-I’m not sure this was a bad Terrence Ross game completely, he had some nice steals and didn’t play that many minutes, but this certainly wasn’t a good Ross game. Airballed a three and missed on a strong transition drive on his two field goal attempts of the night, and had some lapses on defense when he was out there. Did have one nice take off the dribble where he made the shot after a foul call, but it was ruled no continuation. From preseason and Wednesday against Detroit, I simply hope for more than this from him this year. Also, the Raptors have only created one catch and shoot opportunity for Ross through two games, and that’s where he makes his money. | |
 | J. Poeltl 11 MIN | 3-5 FG | 0-0 3FG | 1-1 FT | 7 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 7 PTS | +9 +/-Poeltl only played for seconds in the first half, coming in to start the second quarter before exiting a possession later. In the second half, however, he gave the Raptors some huge minutes and played with poise that belied his inexperience. Had a huge putback dunk off a DeMar miss, and did a good job controlling the boards. | |
 | C. Joseph 21 MIN | 4-7 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 8 PTS | +7 +/-Cory had a fourth quarter stretch where he was brilliant, scoring with ease and playing tough defense on Kyrie. Can’t help but feel like he should’ve been in to guard Irving to finish out the game, because he was clearly the best defender on him. | |
| Dwane CaseyFor the most part, you can be happy with the rotational decisions tonight, and the Raptors got some big minutes from Lowry and the bench tonight too, which hadn’t given the expected performances prior to the fourth quarter of tonight this season. But, leaving Cory on the bench late in the game combined with the iso-heavy offense that struggled for stretches keeps me from giving Casey an A tonight. | |
Five Things We Saw
- I normally don’t like to complain about the referees, and think that teams should play well enough to win despite them, but tonight it really felt like the Cavaliers more often than not got the benefit of the 50/50 calls, and the sequence late in the game where Jonas had position for an offensive board, got pulled down, and there was no call which led to the Kyrie three to end the game was definitely tough to watch.
- Kyrie Irving had a really impressive game for the Cavs. For long stretches it felt like there was simply nothing the Raptors could do to slow him down, and they couldn’t find an answer. In the next matchup, it’ll be interesting to see if they change things up.
- Given Sullinger being out, and tough performances from a few key Raptors performers, it was good to see them play this game as close as they did. It’s still early in the season, and the Cavs can definitely play better as well, but this game definitely demonstrated that Toronto can hang with Cleveland.
- The Raptors had a nice collective effort on the offensive boards tonight, grabbing 18 on that end and winning the rebounding battle 51-40. This is an advantage they can push versus a lot of teams this year with their size and strength, and it’s good to see Toronto putting it to use.
- Turnovers were a real problem tonight, as a team. The Raptors were one of the best teams in the league at handling the ball and limiting their turnovers a year ago, and they were often sloppy tonight. Have to clean that up going forward.
