The Raptors will start Kyle Lowry, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, and Jonas Valanciunas against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
This confirms Nick Nurse’s preference to have Serge Ibaka come off the bench ahead of the more energetic Pascal Siakam. This may be a matchup thing as he’s going up against Kevin Love, who has historically burned the Raptors from three, so perhaps this is Nurse’s way of neutralizing a known threat.
It’s no surprise that Valanciunas starts for the Raptors. There was some talk that he may be coming off the bench if the Raptors wanted a more mobile lineup, but it appears, the way to achieve that in Nurse’s eyes is to sacrifice Ibaka.
No surprises anywhere else.
