Gameday Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors

Following the Raptors season-opening frenzy on Wednesday night, the team up-north looks to build on their momentum in an early-season game against the defending champions.

In the second game of the season, the Toronto Raptors host the Cleveland Cavaliers in game one of their four-game regular season series. This will be the Cavaliers’ first trip back to the Air Canada Centre since ending the Raptors’ historic playoff run in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Let’s hope tonight’s game is not reminiscent of the last game.

3 Keys to Victory for Toronto

1. “The JV and DeMar Show”.  As we saw on Wednesday night, establishing JV’s low-post presence throughout the game allows a better flow to the starting line-up’s offense. With Valanciunas making shots while exploiting his defender’s weaknesses, I expect DeRozan to carry on with nearly the same shot efficiency as against Detroit.
2. A big game from K-Low. Kyle Lowry was  without a doubt the best player on the floor in each of Toronto’s wins against Cleveland. Seeing that Kyrie Irving is capable of effortlessly putting up a thirty point-game, the Raptors need Lowry’s defense to be nothing less than lockdown against the champs.
3. Stop the King. While stopping the freight train that is LeBron James is an unrealistic idea, Toronto can still try to prevent him from getting a triple-double. LeBron’s role as a facilitator undeniably fuels the talent surrounding him. Can the Raptors keep the ball out of his hands?

More from Raptors Rapture

• Scottie Barnes talks Raptors expectations after bumpy 2022-23
• Raptors’ Dennis Schroder completes Cinderella story, wins FIBA World Cup with Germany
• 3 players Raptors could replace OG Anunoby with at trade deadline
• NBA insider praises Raptors’ hiring of “star” Darko Rajakovic
• Raptors fans will love Markquis Nowell’s insane confidence on Instagram

3 keys to Victory for Cleveland

1. Getting Kevin Love involved. As the Cavaliers continue to grow into a more cohesive group, Kevin Love becomes a more dangerous asset to the team’s offense. Love had 23 points and 12 rebounds in the Cavaliers’ win against the Knicks. When Love finds his rhythm, the Cavaliers’ line-ups get smaller, the ball movement increases, and the whole team starts dialling in from three.
2. Ruthless Irving. If Kyrie Irving starts to convert acrobatic and-one layups and hit the most contested of step-back threes, the Raptors might as well do nothing but wait for him to cool off. With Irving’s ability to go off at any given moment, the Cavaliers can comfortably create a lead that would allow them to dominate the Raptors.
3. Triple Double James. When LeBron James is scoring, dropping dimes, grabbing boards, and rejecting shots all at the same; he’s essentially playing positions one through five. If LeBron was to replicate his performance from Tuesday night against the Knicks, Toronto could not overcome his dominance without neglecting the other four Cavs on the floor.

Prediction

In recent history, the competition between the Raptors and the Cavaliers seems to result in either a hard-fought win for the Raptors, or a complete blow-out by the Cavs. In my opinion, tonight’s game will be reminiscent of Lowry’s game winner in February.