Game Thread | 2022-23 Season | Game #1 | Cavs @ Raptors | Oct. 19, 2022

[Wham with the Right Hand]

The game slipped away in the six second-half minutes when [Donovan Mitchell] rested, as the Cavs were outscored 14-6 during those two pivotal stretches. With Mitchell on the floor, Cleveland outscored Toronto by 10 points -- the best mark of any Cavaliers player. - Fedor

At least Mitchell came as advertised. If we had either Garland or Rubio in the second half we probably win this one.

Yeah, the Cavs are a finesse team and they were definitely bothered by the Raptors ultra-aggressive style of defense - contesting every pass while being handsy and physical on the ball. I wanted to see them force it in to Allen more and see if he could get Siakam in foul trouble earlier.

I think Garland was bothered by their defensive intensity, but he missed a couple of easy floaters in front of the rim and also and uncontested layup.

We play them next in Toronto in about six weeks. We'll have Garland back but they will have Porter, Boucher, Flynn, and Birch. They were missing four reserves last night. But like the announcers said, they're a top-heavy team. Siakam and Anunoby led the NBA in minutes last year and Barnes was in the top 10. Their bench was last in scoring.

So I think the Raptors are very dependent on all five starters being healthy and playing well, which they did last night.

Okoro only played 12 minutes and was not a factor when he was on the floor. No points, rebounds, assists, steals, or blocks. One turnover and four fouls. He's supposed to be a defensive stopper but all he could do was foul last night. I'm wondering if Cedi (28 minutes) has moved ahead of him or if it was just that Isaac got in foul trouble and Cedi was shooting well.

 

[CleveRocks]

I guess the most troubling aspect of the game was the degree we relied on Love and Cedi (21 points) to keep it close..

I thought mitchell was everything we could hope for and Caris had his best game since becoming a cav.. both guys, lots of assists. Allen got better after a slow start . Wade his usual steady..

Garland and Mobley a little rougher outing,like they weren't expecting actual physical defense.. okoro, defense but nothing else, and Neto looked like a garbage time guy..

I think we win this game without Garland getting mugged. And probably win it if we have Rubio instead of Neto..

I will say this, Barnes is a factor when he is in. Toronto is very tough to stop..

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

I think we win this game without Garland getting mugged. And probably win it if we have Rubio instead of Neto..

I will say this, Barnes is a factor when he is in. Toronto is very tough to stop..

This game was a repeat of the end of last season. When Garland had to rest there was nobody to run the team except Rondo. Rubio and Sexton were injured. The team was 12 points per 100 possessions worse with Darius on the bench and we lost some close games.

Tonight we had Mitchell but with Garland and Rubio out we had to use Neto when Mitchell needed a breather. The Cavs were a -8 in the second half with Neto in for Mitchell and we lost by 3. Same as last year.

So, yeah, the injury to Garland probably cost us a win. We probably win if Rubio was available. So barring injuries, I think the Cavs will be one of the top 5-6 teams in the East in the first half and after Rubio is back probably top four, although they say players are better their second year after ACL surgery.

Barnes is the kind of physical player the Cavs have trouble with. Montrezl Harrell is another. Barnes just bulled his way to the rim going right through Cedi, Okoro, and LeVert. He also had seven assists and was a +20. The next highest Raptor was +9.

When we play them in 5-6 weeks if we have Garland and they have Porter and Boucher it's going to be a slugfest.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

John Michael said the Raptors intense and starter-heavy style of play will catch up to them at the end of the season, but it turns out they won 14 of their last 18, including wins against Phoenix, Boston, and Philadelphia (twice). They lost in the first round of the playoffs to Philly, 4-2. In two of the losses Barnes was out and in another Vanvleet was out.

When the Raptors are healthy they are a heck of a team. John Hollinger had this...

It’s quite amazing how many similar-sized, switchable players the Raptors have acquired over the past three years … and how few centers.

Of the 15 players most likely to make the opening day roster, only rookie center Koloko is taller than 6-9 … but nine players stand either 6-8 or 6-9, and the 6-7 Anunoby plays big enough to effectively make it 10...Despite not playing a real big man, they were phenomenal on the offensive boards, finishing second in offensive rebound rate...the result of a schematic decision to send multiple players to the boards and gamble that their impressive overall team speed could stem the tide in transition. Toronto seemed to win that bet...
While they were sixth in opponent transition frequency, the Raptors had the sixth-best transition defense on a per-play basis.

One wonders if they will spawn imitators.

The Cavs and Raptors kind of represent opposite ends of the philosophical spectrum. The Raptors are embracing position-less basketball with no centers, basically it's Vanvleet, Trent, and a gang of small forwards. The Cavs play a traditional center, a 6'11" power forward, and two smaller guards. They only have one true small forward (Cedi), and he comes off the bench. I consider Okoro and LeVert to be guards attempting to play small forward.

 

[shoes22]

I guess the most troubling aspect of the game was the degree we relied on Love and Cedi (21 points) to keep it close..

Is this surprising though? There were a significant number of wins off the top of my head last season we would have lost if one or more of Love, Cedi or Markkanen didn’t have a hot shooting game.

Now you’d hope with Mitchell we don’t have to rely on that so much, but losing Garland last night put us in the same situation pretty much.

 

[The Oi]

I thought the Raps looked like a pretty good team.

Physical on d and good shooting. That’s a tough matchup for anyone.

 

[CavsFaninNJ]

Is this surprising though? There were a significant number of wins off the top of my head last season we would have lost if one or more of Love, Cedi or Markkanen didn’t have a hot shooting game.

It's not just the Cavs, it's the nature of NBA basketball. Our opponents role players get hot and bring them victories all the time.

 

[Damage]

Given everything the Cavs were working with (new players, rotations, integrating DM, Mobley getting burn for first time, DG losing his fucking eye) I thought they played incredibly well sans the last Q.

Raptors are a legit/dark horse contender for all the reasons you saw last night, remind me of the old Ravens of NBA teams: handsy, physical, dare the refs to call fouls (which they clearly did not do last night), and will beat the shit out of players. Not to mention ScotiaBank is one of the toughest to play in (put it behind Utah and Oracle).

Cavs are gonna be fucking good.

 

[pinoycavsfan]

This is the first game the cavs played together and garland went down. They had a bad preseason and never had the momentum coming into the season. It might take a couple of games to settle everyone's roles.

 

[Ohioplayer00]

Coaching.

Toughness is definitely a weakness!
My kingdom for a Lonnie Shelton/Tyrone Hill type player.

 

[Ohioplayer00]

Thanks. What about the eye itself? Did his cornea get scratched?

Cornea was untouched! It was actually the inside of the eye lid!

 

[kidduck]

Remember last season when fans were in favor of contact 'let them play' style
of basketball?

We can say the refs swallowed their whistles but I thought it was obvious
Toronto bullied the Cavs all night and Cleveland just took it.

 

[kidduck]

“If you don’t establish your identity early, then you’re not gonna get the calls,” Young said.

Referees, Young reasoned, are slaves to expectations.

“If they’re not used to you (playing aggressively),” in other words, good luck picking up those habits mid-season.


“But if it’s an expected thing already, then you put yourself in position to be even better,” Young said.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

“If you don’t establish your identity early, then you’re not gonna get the calls,” Young said.

Referees, Young reasoned, are slaves to expectations.

“If they’re not used to you (playing aggressively),” in other words, good luck picking up those habits mid-season.


“But if it’s an expected thing already, then you put yourself in position to be even better,” Young said.

The Raptors were definitely trying to establish their identity as a physical, grabby, high-contact defense last night. I found myself wishing JBB would put in Lopez and he would flatten somebody.

 

[jjvors]

The game went pretty much as I expected.

I expected we'd be on top due to Garland and Mitchell and we were. Toronto's a good defensive club and showed it. But they couldn't stop both Mitchell and Garland, let alone the rest of our club.

I predicted 121-116, a five point win. They scored 108. With Garland, we'd have scored at least 113.

Allen had good numbers, but didn't shoot enough. Same with Mobley. I don't know if we weren't feeding them enough or if they weren't open, or if they weren't aggressive enough. Or perhaps, the guards (soon only one guard, Mitchell) were effective enough.

If you'd told me we'd lose Garland in the 2nd quarter, I'd have said we'd lose. But we lost by less than I expected. Both Garland and Mitchell shot worse than I expected. If they shot like I expected (40% from 3) we'd have won.

I'll put it down to a learning experience.