Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors: Windhorst Beat Blog
By Brian Windhorst, The Plain Dealer
February 26, 2010, 11:58AM
TORONTO -- Pre-game from Canada, made it to town thanks to luck, the right mixture of being early and delayed and lots of de-icing fluid:
Projected starting lineups
Cavs: Mo Williams, Anthony Parker, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Anderson Varejao
Raptors: Jarrett Jack, DeMar DeRozan, Hedo Turkoglu, Andrea Bargnani, Rasho Nestovic
Officials
Bill Spooner, Leroy Richardson, Eric Lewis
• Shaquille O'Neal is out with a thumb injury. He's going to get an MRI today and there should be more information around gametime. Also, Chris Bosh is probably not going to play with a sprained ankle. So some star power and size missing for sure.
• The Raptors have been playing very well for the last six weeks or so. They have become an offensive juggernaut, mostly because Bosh is easily having his best offensive season. Also, Bargnani has shown very impressive inside/out development and is averaging more than 17 a game. But when Bosh didn't play Wednesday the Raptors had their 20-game string of 100-point games snapped and they managed just 87 points. Without Bosh, the ball is going to be in Turkoglu's hands more. Although he's had a disappointing season, he gives the Cavs trouble in pick-and-roll coverage.
• Cavs defense has picked up gradually over the last three games. They just haven't put it all together yet. Last night in Boston they were off the charts good in the second half after a terrible first half. There is more wiggle room against the Raptors without Bosh. However, they love to play fast and they are very effective at pick-and-pops for jumpers. Also, off the bench Jose Calderon is another one of those quickness challenges for Mo Williams and Delonte West.
• Cavs will play small again without a true center. This can work if they are willing to diversify their offense. When playing small, it can be easy to settle for jumpers. Against the Celtics the Cavs got great inside scoring with interior passes to Varejao and J.J. Hickson. Also, Jamison created his own shot inside. Those facets have to be part of the attack, the Cavs cannot stick to hoisting 3-pointers on the road. That is the big temptation without playing without a post player to dump to
. Regardless, what you said is the exact reason why I said Jamison needs to get more touches and off the 3pt line. Because he can ball and help us way more than he already is.
