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The Cavaliers, winners of five of their last seven, ring in the New Year on the beautiful shores of Lake Ontario as they take on the Toronto Raptors for the second time this year. The first game was in Cleveland on Nov. 26 with the Cavs prevailing 105-102 with both teams healthy.
The Raptors started 8-8 but have since gone 4-12, including a loss to Detroit Saturday, snapping the Pistons 28-game losing streak. However, the Raptors were short-handed since they traded OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn, and Precious Achiuwa to the Knicks and the players they received hadn’t been cleared to play yet.
They have one win against teams over .500 in their last 17 games (Phoenix at 16-15). The Raptors are 8-9 at home while the Cavs are 9-6 on the road.
The Raptors swapped small forwards with the Knicks, picking up RJ Barrett, averaging 18.2 ppg on 42% overall and 33% on 3’s. They also got backup guard Immanuel Quickley who averages 15.0 points on 45% and 40%. This will be Barrett and Quickley’s first game with the Raptors.
The Raptors are average across the board, ranking 18th in scoring and 17th in scoring defense. On offense they attack the rim, ranking 6th in points in the paint and 2nd in fast break points. They are a smaller, very athletic team that likes to run and crash the offensive glass. They are not great shooters, ranking 20th in effective field goal percentage, but they force the pace, ranking 10th in field goal attempts per game so what they lack in accuracy they make up in shot volume.
They are not good from outside, ranking 25th in 3-point percentage. They are very unselfish, ranking 2nd in assists per possession.
The Raptors miss shots but they hit the offensive glass hard, ranking 8th in offensive rebound percentage. In the first game the Raps got 17 offensive rebounds, with Anunoby leading the way with 5. Fortunately we won’t have to deal with him tonight.
The key to defending Toronto is to keep them out of the paint and make them take 3’s or long jumpers. That and having all our guys hit the defensive glass to prevent a lot of second chance opportunities because the Raptors will be crashing. The Cavs need to make their 3-point shots or get back on D because the Raptors love to fast break.
PF Pascal Siakam is their leading scorer with a line of 22/7/5 (rounded off). Siakam is making 51% of his shots but just 26% of his 3’s. Dean Wade will have to deal with him most of the time. SF Scottie Barnes is having a great season with a line of 21/9/6, shooting 48% overall and 39% on 3’s. Max Strus will have his hands full.
C Jakob Poeltl averages 10 points and 8 rebounds in 26 minutes. Their backup center, Christian Koloko, is out and they don’t have another NBA caliber center on their roster, so they may go with Chris Boucher or Jalen McDaniels, who are 6’9” but only weigh 190 and 200 pounds. Jarrett Allen should have a good night. In the first game he was 9-for-10.
Dennis Schroder is their point guard, averaging 15 points and 7 assists. Gary Trent Jr comes off the bench to average 11 points.
The Raptors start a center (Poeltl), three forwards (Siakam, Barnes, Barrett), and a point guard (Schroder). Other than Trent and Quickley, none of their bench players average over 6 points per game.
Defensively the Raptors are nothing special, ranking 20th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in opponents’ points in the paint, 20th in block percentage, and 15th in forced turnovers. By swapping Anunoby, who is one of the top defenders in the league, for Barrett they probably weakened their defense a bit. They rank 9th in rebound percentage, so you generally need to make the first shot. They don’t foul, ranking 3rd in opponents’ free throw attempts per possession.
The Raptors will be incorporating two new starters and they have been pretty bad lately, losing 12 of their last 16. Three of those wins have come against 7-23 Charlotte, 6-25 Washington, and 12-19 Atlanta. That being said, they came within 3 points of beating the Cavs in Cleveland five weeks ago and they might be smarting after getting beat by the Pistons and looking to bounce back. The Cavs should prevail but if they go 6-for-43 on 3-point shots like they did the last game all bets are off.
Garland, Mobley, and Jerome are out for the Cavs.
The Raptors started 8-8 but have since gone 4-12, including a loss to Detroit Saturday, snapping the Pistons 28-game losing streak. However, the Raptors were short-handed since they traded OG Anunoby, Malachi Flynn, and Precious Achiuwa to the Knicks and the players they received hadn’t been cleared to play yet.
They have one win against teams over .500 in their last 17 games (Phoenix at 16-15). The Raptors are 8-9 at home while the Cavs are 9-6 on the road.
The Raptors swapped small forwards with the Knicks, picking up RJ Barrett, averaging 18.2 ppg on 42% overall and 33% on 3’s. They also got backup guard Immanuel Quickley who averages 15.0 points on 45% and 40%. This will be Barrett and Quickley’s first game with the Raptors.
The Raptors are average across the board, ranking 18th in scoring and 17th in scoring defense. On offense they attack the rim, ranking 6th in points in the paint and 2nd in fast break points. They are a smaller, very athletic team that likes to run and crash the offensive glass. They are not great shooters, ranking 20th in effective field goal percentage, but they force the pace, ranking 10th in field goal attempts per game so what they lack in accuracy they make up in shot volume.
They are not good from outside, ranking 25th in 3-point percentage. They are very unselfish, ranking 2nd in assists per possession.
The Raptors miss shots but they hit the offensive glass hard, ranking 8th in offensive rebound percentage. In the first game the Raps got 17 offensive rebounds, with Anunoby leading the way with 5. Fortunately we won’t have to deal with him tonight.
The key to defending Toronto is to keep them out of the paint and make them take 3’s or long jumpers. That and having all our guys hit the defensive glass to prevent a lot of second chance opportunities because the Raptors will be crashing. The Cavs need to make their 3-point shots or get back on D because the Raptors love to fast break.
PF Pascal Siakam is their leading scorer with a line of 22/7/5 (rounded off). Siakam is making 51% of his shots but just 26% of his 3’s. Dean Wade will have to deal with him most of the time. SF Scottie Barnes is having a great season with a line of 21/9/6, shooting 48% overall and 39% on 3’s. Max Strus will have his hands full.
C Jakob Poeltl averages 10 points and 8 rebounds in 26 minutes. Their backup center, Christian Koloko, is out and they don’t have another NBA caliber center on their roster, so they may go with Chris Boucher or Jalen McDaniels, who are 6’9” but only weigh 190 and 200 pounds. Jarrett Allen should have a good night. In the first game he was 9-for-10.
Dennis Schroder is their point guard, averaging 15 points and 7 assists. Gary Trent Jr comes off the bench to average 11 points.
The Raptors start a center (Poeltl), three forwards (Siakam, Barnes, Barrett), and a point guard (Schroder). Other than Trent and Quickley, none of their bench players average over 6 points per game.
Defensively the Raptors are nothing special, ranking 20th in effective field goal percentage, 21st in opponents’ points in the paint, 20th in block percentage, and 15th in forced turnovers. By swapping Anunoby, who is one of the top defenders in the league, for Barrett they probably weakened their defense a bit. They rank 9th in rebound percentage, so you generally need to make the first shot. They don’t foul, ranking 3rd in opponents’ free throw attempts per possession.
The Raptors will be incorporating two new starters and they have been pretty bad lately, losing 12 of their last 16. Three of those wins have come against 7-23 Charlotte, 6-25 Washington, and 12-19 Atlanta. That being said, they came within 3 points of beating the Cavs in Cleveland five weeks ago and they might be smarting after getting beat by the Pistons and looking to bounce back. The Cavs should prevail but if they go 6-for-43 on 3-point shots like they did the last game all bets are off.
Garland, Mobley, and Jerome are out for the Cavs.
