Toronto Raptors at Cleveland Cavaliers Game Preview

The Cavs, meanwhile, head into action with a 15-25 record. It isn’t great, but it’s still better than they started either of the previous two years. 

The Raptors have not won a game since before Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and Pascal Siakam first entered health and safety protocol. They have been back for a few, but the wins still haven’t shown up yet. 

They can blame it on the Pistons finally figuring out how to play competitive basketball with the players still on the team. The Raps have to be better, though. They’re still likely to make the play-in. 

The Cavs have two paths this year. They can try and win more contests and find their way into the first part of the playoffs. 

Or, they can start giving more minutes to their rookies rather than the veterans on the bench and perhaps go through growing pains to get a better pick. There is a lot of talent in the 2021 draft, so perhaps they’re looking there. 

ODDS:

Despite the seven-game skid, Toronto is a -7.5 favorite.

Raps Seek to End Skid 

The last time the Raptors won a game, the iPhone wasn’t out yet. Fred VanVleet was in junior high. And Nick Nurse hadn’t even made it to the G-League yet. 

None of these things are true, but it does feel like the Raptors have hit a bump in the road. They have also told teams that they won’t be trading Kyle Lowry ahead of Friday’s trade deadline.

Lowry and VanVleet are one of the more potent backcourts in the NBA. And though both guys are under 6’2, they are tremendous on both ends of the court. 

They give hope to Garland and Sexton becoming great together on winning teams in Cleveland. With Pascal Siakam now being the starting center so that they can keep Norman Powell as a starter, the Raptors have less size.

Pascal will have a tough matchup with Jarrett Allen.

Cavs Looking for Win at Home

At 15-25, the year has been kind and also cruel to the Cavs. They had a stretch early in the year where Damyean Dotson was the only healthy guard. 

And they managed to win a few games. After falling behind big to the Spurs on Friday, Cleveland quickly went to their bench, and it proved to be the right move.

Brodric Thomas and Lamar Stevens both provided tremendous energy during an improbable comeback. They still lost the game, but Thomas scored seven points and made a number of key defensive plays and passes. And Stevens wound up with a double-double in just 17 minutes of action. They also got terrific minutes from Dean Wade.

To beat Toronto, they’ll need Okoro to be all over Fred VanVleet, while either Garland/Sexton can cover Lowry. Matthew Dellavedova has an outside shot at playing in this one. If he can give them any number of minutes, his defense would be immensely helpful.