 | Cleveland | 116 | Final Box Score | 112 | Toronto |  |
 C | P. Siakam18 MIN, 6 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, -3 FG, 0-0 3FG 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -21 +/- Hit a couple long – and awkward – jumpers, and had a great motor all night, especially getting back in transition. Unfortunately for him he was also often lost in the defensive scheme. Tough night for the rook. | |
 B | D. Carroll33 MIN, 8 PTS, 0 REB, 3 AST, -7 FG, 1-6 3FG 1-2 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -11 +/- Cooled off a bit tonight offensively, hitting just 1/6 from deep. Not sure what else he can do against LeBron, who, seemed genuinely angry and insulted at the idea of Carroll playing D against him. To be fair to our dude, Carroll played LeBron as best he could – but again, his best only gets so far against a stronger and ruthless all-time great. | |
 D | J. Valanciunas25 MIN, 4 PTS, 10 REB, 1 AST, -7 FG, 0-0 3FG 2-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -16 +/- Yikes. Easily his worst game of the season. Couldn’t get any offense going – even in his nominal offensive takes to start the game – and was easily switched onto the perimeter on defense. His help D was actually OK, but his man-to-man D was abysmal. His defensive lapses seem so preventable, too. Midway through the 2nd quarter, he had his back to a LeBron drive and threw his arm in the air and gave LeBron a soft foul – sending him to the line. It was a surreal play. He’s just way too matchup-dependant. | |
 A | D. DeRozan39 MIN, 31 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST, -11 FG, 0-2 3FG 7-7 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -5 +/- Poor guy looked like he was alone in carrying this team for large stretches of the game. He wanted this game more than anyone tonight. Was locked on D, continued his hot streak from behind the arc, and even held his own aganist a Kevin Love post-up. | |
 A | K. Lowry40 MIN, 24 PTS, 3 REB, 9 AST, -7 FG, 4-9 3FG 6-7 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, -5 +/- Really good offense, per usual. In a sense, he was a bit lucky JR Smith left this game with an injury, as Smith was getting by DeMar pretty easily on the perimeter in the first quarter. Love the way he’s been morphed into a playmaker as of late.
Congrats on 10k. | |
 B- | P. Patterson30 MIN, 12 PTS, 9 REB, 0 AST, -9 FG, 3-7 3FG 3-4 FT, 0 BLK, 2 TO, 17 +/- Tough shooting night, but was a spark plug off the bench on the defensive end. Still, he needs to be more consistent on the offensive end. His miss at point blank to end the half will haunt him. In the fourth, he had the option to either A) hit an open three; or B) kick-it down low to a wide-open Bebe underneath the basket. He shot an airball. | |
 B | T. Ross22 MIN, 14 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST, -5 FG, 4-7 3FG 2-2 FT, 4 BLK, 0 TO, 11 +/- I mean, he was fine in limited minutes despite looking terrified against LeBron James. | |
 A- | L. Nogueira15 MIN, 6 PTS, 3 REB, 0 AST, 0 FG, 0-0 3FG 2-3 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 8 +/- He actually really is making a leap this season, which solves a lot of problems with Biyombo’s departure. Forced a couple misses from LeBron, and as always, efficient on the pick-and-roll.
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 A | C. Joseph13 MIN, 7 PTS, 0 REB, 2 AST, -1 FG, 1-1 3FG 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 1 +/- Barely got a lick in the 1st half after picking up a couple fouls, but immediately made an impact and stopped the bleeding from Kyrie late in the third. Pound-for-pound, he’s pretty well the ideal Kyrie-stopper. Efficient night from the floor too. | |
 | N. Powell5 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 FG, 0-0 3FG 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, 1 +/- Had a few rare minutes to start the 2nd quarter. Was neither here nor there. Held his head in disbelief after Lowry’s three from 97 feet. | |
Five Things We Saw
- Lowry and DeMar didn’t have enough help.
- Sporadic offense from Ross and CoJo was good, but the backcourt got nothing from the other starters tonight. There were only five players on the Raptors’ roster with a positive +/- and they were all on the bench.
- Rebounding was an issue.
The Raptors were out-rebounded heavily tonight, and some of the points the Cavs scored off of 2nd chance points just broke the Raptors’ backs entirely.
- Brutal 3rd quarter, which again, largely had to do with Dwane Casey riding the starting frontcourt far too long when Patterson and Bebe were the better solution. The Raptors were outscored by 8 in that frame, which makes it look better than it really was thanks to CoJo’s excellent play on Kyrie late.
