Tag Archives: Toronto Raptors

Cavaliers fall short in Toronto, lose 108-105

Posted on by
Advertisements

It was a tough night north of the border as the Cleveland Cavaliers were not able to come away with a win against the Toronto Raptors.

The 4th quarter began with the Cleveland Cavaliers holding on to an eight-point lead and were just 12 minutes away from starting the season on a winning note. Cleveland held a one-point lead until Toronto took over with 3:31 left to play. The Raptors would outscore Cleveland 12-9 over the final few minutes as they handed the Cavaliers a three-point loss. This stretch from Toronto was actually just a small snippet of what they were able to do in the final quarter. Cleveland was outscored 32-21 as they were simply not able to keep up with Toronto.

A big reason for the Cavs loss was an injury which forced Darius Garland to leave the game late in the 2nd quarter. It was revealed after the game that Garland has a laceration on the inside of his eyelid. The absence of Garland for over half of the game was a clear issue for Cleveland. Losing a player as talented as Garland would take down most teams in the NBA and the Cavalier were no exception.

Player notes

Donovan Mitchell was outstanding in his Cavaliers debut, leading Cleveland with 31 points on 12-21 shooting and nine assists. Mitchell was a primary reason why the Cavs were in the game for as long as they were. Without Mitchell the final differential may have been a bit lopsided.

Cavaliers big man Jarrett Allen started the season off on the right foot as he finished with his usual double-double. Allen scored 13 points and grabbed 10 boards in addition to two blocks.

The leading bench scorer and second-highest Cavs scoring effort came from Cedi Osman. Osman had one of his on nights, making six of 12 field goal attempts including 3-6 from downtown.

Second-year star Evan Mobley was the second-highest scoring Cavaliers starter with 14 points on 5-9 from the field. Mobley also had six rebounds, one assists, one steal, and one block.

Kevin Love had a productive night in 21 minutes off the bench. Love totaled eight points, seven rebounds, and two assists for Cleveland.

The Cavaliers are off until Saturday when they travel to Chicago to take on the Bulls as they look for their first win of the season.

New look Cavaliers begin season in Toronto

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers are set to take on the Toronto Raptors.

An offseason roster shakeup has the Cleveland Cavaliers looking to build upon last season and go to the next level. The backcourt pairing of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell look to lead the Cavs to new heights. Cleveland will begin their campaign on the road as they look to start the season on a high note against the Toronto Raptors.

In four matchups last season it was the Cavaliers coming out three times over the Raptors including a lopsided 144-99 win in December. Cleveland outscored Toronto by an average of 10 points per contest 113.5-103.5. It would not be surprising to see this trend continue as the Cavs trajectory is clearly trending upward.

The Cavaliers will be without Dylan Windler and the recently signed Mamadi Diakite while the Raptors have listed Otto Porter Jr. as out. Of the three players listed out Porter Jr. is the only true impact player, averaging 22.1 minutes for Golden State last season. Both teams have their full starting lineup available and that is what should decide the game.

Cavaliers miss out on NBA Awards

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers took a massive step forward last season in their ascension from the basement of the Eastern Conference, but did not result in any awards for members of the organization. Award winner after award winner was announced without any Cavs taking home the respective honor.

Up for Most Improved Player, Darius Garland finished in third behind winner Ja Morant and second place Dejounte Murray. Garland’s rise in the wake of multiple teammates suffering season-ending injuries propelled the Cavs to postseason play without LeBron James for the first time in a quarter century.

In a very controversial decision Evan Mobley finished in second place for Rookie of the Year with Toronto’s Scottie Barnes being named the winner. The 15 vote differential is the smallest ever in the system of voting.

The comeback season of Kevin Love got a lot of appreciation league wide, but not enough to win Sixth Man of the Year. Tyler Herro of the Heat won by nearly 270 votes taking 96 of 100 first place votes (Love finished with three first place votes).

Koby Altman was up for Executive of the Year, but fell short to another individual from Memphis, Zach Kleiman. Altman finished with two first place votes, five second place votes, and two third place votes for 27 points total while Kleiman had 85.

If the Cavaliers are the type of team that thrives on being overlooked then this could be some motivation for next season. This young Cavs team could make sure that next time that the end of season NBA awards are being announced that they get the call.

Cavaliers come away with narrow win in Toronto

Posted on by
Advertisements

A couple of late free throws were enough to give the Cleveland Cavaliers the win over the Toronto Raptors.

Down five points with 1:43 left in the game, the Cleveland Cavaliers were staring a loss right in the face. A couple of shots from Jarrett Allen brought the Cavs within one. With 4.8 seconds remaining the game Darius Garland was fouled by OG Anunoby, sending him to the line with the opportunity to take the lead. Garland made both free throws  giving Cleveland the lead and the Cavs were able to hold on for 102-101 victory.

While the clutch free throws from Garland get the shine, the fact of the matter is that he was spectacular all game. Garland finished with  21 points and eight assists, leading the Cavaliers in both categories. Evan Mobley continued his impressive rookie season, scoring 18 points on 7-14 from the field and making all four free throws. Jarrett Allen also made significant contributions with 16 points and 15 rebounds, his third straight double-double and fifth of the season.

For the fourth straight game Cedi Osman was productive contributor for the Cavaliers with 17 points on 5-10 from three-point range. Osman has made 19 of his last 34 attempts from deep, 20% higher than his career average (55.8%-35.4%), while impressive a correction is coming in this area sooner than later.

The Cavaliers are 6-4 on the year and will travel to New York to take on the Knicks Sunday at 6:00 P.M. after an off day Saturday. 

Raptors to pursue Cavs RFA Jarrett Allen

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Toronto Raptors are expected to pursue the Cleveland Cavaliers restricted free agent center once free agency begins.

As expected, there are going to be suitors for Jarrett Allen besides the Cleveland Cavaliers. Shams Charania of The Athletic (subscription required) is reporting that the Toronto Raptors are interested in the soon-to-be restricted free agent.

…the Toronto Raptors are expected to be among the strong suitors for the restricted free agent, according to sources.

Charania would also add that the Raptors attempted previously acquire Jarrett Allen in the past before ending up in Cleveland.

Exactly how the Cavs handle this situation will be interesting. While they obviously valued Allen highly before acquiring him, they should still maintain flexibility in regards to their future roster construction. Perhaps if they decide they may be better off in the long term without Allen they could work out a sign and trade with another team who has interest.

Shorthanded Cavaliers no match for Raptors

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers were missing some key players and that played a factor in the final result against the Toronto Raptors.

It was an all hands on deck night for the Cleveland Cavaliers as several players were not available for them Monday night. Collin Sexton, Dylan Windler, Taurean Prince, Isaiah Hartenstein, Larry Nance Jr., Matthew Dellavedova and Lamar Stevens were all out against the Toronto Raptors and that contributed to what was a 112-96 loss.

As a result of the Cavaliers missing so many players, Isaac Okoro was Cleveland’s leading scorer with 20. Jarrett Allen was the second-highest scorer with 15 points in 31 minutes. The fact of the matter is that it is not a good sign if these are the Cavs leading scorers. More often than not it will end up as a loss and that is what happened Monday.

Then there was this moment from Kevin Love which came late in the 3rd quarter. The ref gave the ball the Love for him to inbound and he unenthusiastically tapped the ball in bounds. This resulted in a steal and an easy three-pointer for Toronto. The Cavaliers were actually only behind by six points prior to this and potentially in the game.

There is more to it than what appears on the surface. Love injured his knee and felt a foul should have been called, leading to his frustration and this lowlight of a play. Either way this is unacceptable from someone who is supposed to be the veteran leader of the team. The Cavaliers coaching staff needs to sit down and have a talk with Love about his role with the team. Love is supposed to be setting an example for the younger players on the team and acting out is never a good look.

With the loss the Cavaliers are not technically out of the play-in picture, but they might as well be. Cleveland is six games behind 10th place Washington and the season is all but over. The Cavaliers might as well pack it in and just finish off the tank job they started earlier this season.

The Cavaliers have Tuesday off before returning home to take on the Magic Wednesday.

Cavaliers and Raptors face off Monday night

Posted on by
Advertisements

It is a battle of current non-playoff teams as the Cleveland Cavaliers are on the road to take on the Toronto Raptors.

It was just over two weeks ago that the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors squared off at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and the Cavs were on the wrong side of 20-point differential. Cleveland is currently reeling from a close loss Sunday night while Toronto has had a day to rest for Monday’s matchup.

Toronto comes in at 25-35 on the year and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are 21-39 and 3-7 over that same span. Both teams are currently on the outside of the playoff/play-in picture.

In that game the Cavaliers got some good scoring totals, but it was not enough to keep up with Toronto. Collin Sexton (29), Darius Garland (19), Kevin Love (18), and Dean Wade (14) led the Cavs scoring effort.

It was a surprising performance from Gary Trent Jr. that torched the Cavaliers. Trent scored 44 points while going 17-19 from the field including 7-9 from deep. If Cleveland wants a different outcome this time around they must prevent an outing like this from happening again.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 P.M.

Cavaliers no match for Raptors in 135-115 loss

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers saw their brief winning streak end as they were on the wrong side of a 135-115 score against the Toronto Raptors.

From the start this game was not really a contest. Once the Cavaliers were down double-digits midway through the 1st quarter this game was just about over. While the Toronto Raptors have not played up to their expectations this season, they proved they are more than capable of handling the Cavs.

The Cavaliers found themselves down 87-54 at the half, an embarrassing deficit to say the least. Even with Toronto’s 13-point 3rd quarter, the Cavs were so far behind that the end result was already written in stone.

Even though Toronto was without Kyle Lowry and Pascal Siakam, two of their better players, the Cavaliers were not match. There really is not a combination of current Cavs players which points towards a definite win fort this unit and Saturday’s result seems to show that quite definitively.

The Cavs have a shot at redemption Sunday as they host the Pelicans at 7:00 P.M.

Cavaliers looking for third straight win

Posted on by
Advertisements

As they search for their third consecutive win, the Cleveland Cavaliers will host the Toronto Raptors Saturday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

After another surprising win, the Cleveland Cavaliers have a chance to run their win streak to three as they take on the Toronto Raptors at home. This will be the second of three meetings between Cleveland and Toronto, with the Cavs winning their last meeting 116-105. That game featured Collin Sexton scoring 36 points, 23 of which came in the second half. Cleveland will be hoping that Sexton can repeat that performance this time around.

The Raptors have lost their last two games and seven of their last 10. Cleveland is just half a game behind Toronto in the standings which is a statement that would have been hard to believe before the season started. Toronto is 9-18 on the road this seasons while the Cavaliers are 11-13 at home, the location of Saturday’s matchup.

The issue the Raptors have dealt with lately have been injuries and the suspension of Fred VanVleet. In addition to the suspended VanVleet, Kyle Lowry, Jalen Harris, Rodney Hood, and Paul Watson did not play in Thursday’s loss. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have been without Jarrett Allen, Dylan Windler, and Larry Nance Jr. over the last few games. The fact they won their last two without those two players is quite surprising.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 P.M. at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Cavaliers host Raptors at home Sunday

Posted on by
Advertisements

The Cleveland Cavaliers continue their home stand as they will play host to the visiting Toronto Raptors.

Perhaps the Cleveland Cavaliers can harness some of their momentum from their late-game rally in their loss on Friday and use it on Sunday night when they host the Toronto Raptors. This will be the first of three meetings between the two teams. Toronto comes in losers of seven straight and nine of their last 10. Meanwhile the Cavs have lost five of their last six games.

Like Cleveland, Toronto is having a down year and are not living up to expectations. The only difference is that the Raptors by far have more talent on their roster and are closer to playoff contention than the Cavaliers are. There is a way for Toronto to figure things out and right the ship. Unfortunately this does not apply for Cleveland and their trajectory.

Toronto features a relatively balanced offensive attack with three players averaging at or near 20 points per game. Pascal Siakam leads with 20.1 while Fred VanVleet averages 19.8 and Noram Powell chips in 19.6 of his own. Kyle Lowry also makes an impact with his 17.6 points per game, but it is his 7.5 APG that makes a difference. VanVleet is second on the team with 6.6 assists per contest and Siakam averages 4.8. The Raptors offense is truly a shared load and a collaborative effort. It is not necessarily the performance of one, but the contributions of all for the Raptors.

It will not be easy for the Cavaliers on Sunday even though they are facing a struggling Raptors team. Cleveland is a clear step down talent wise which will make it difficult to compete from start to finish. The Raptors average and give up nearly the same amount of points per game (112.4-112.2) while the Cavs are outscored by over eight points per game (103.8-111.9). From this perspective the outlook does not look great for Cleveland by any means, but stranger things have happened including the Cavs recent win over Boston.

The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 P.M. Sunday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.