Game Thread | Game #34 | Raptors @ Cavs | Dec. 23, 2022

[Ohioplayer00]

When you have a team like the Raptors who over play everything the best way to combat that is make that second and three extra pass and catch them back door or looping inside. Dribbling against their defense plays into their hands.

 

[Dr. Claw]

Diakite was available right? Why do the Cavs continue to keep him out, even in that long stretch of Neto/Lopez ball?

 

[cabs]

Cavs are 0-3 vs raptors
22-9 vs everyone else

Raptors are 3-0 vs Cavs
12-18 vs everyone else

Frustrating coz I hate them

 

[Cavatt]

When you have a team like the Raptors who over play everything the best way to combat that is make that second and three extra pass and catch them back door or looping inside. Dribbling against their defense plays into their hands.

Yes and I'm sure that was part of the game plan. Initially the ball was moving well, but then after a few turnovers, the Cavs just isoed the rest of the night.

Darius and Donovan getting their pocket picked repeatedly is hard to watch. I know they are getting fouled, but for some damn reason the raptors, the 15th defense get the benefit of the doubt over the 1stv ranked defense.

They should have been playing through Mobley. He can see over the defense.

Guarantee that is what you do in the playoffs. Even play through Love. Notice when they used Rolo as the hub, they got easy looks.

Mobley and Allen got good looks, but Mitchell and Darius never made it past the first line of defense.

Okoro having success on the weak side was no accident.

They picked this kind of defense apart from Utah the other day, the raptors are just now physical and take the Cavs it of what they want to run

 

[Tlyons]

Donovan Mitchell on the Raptors: "When you foul the whole game -- and they're really good at it -- they can foul the whole game and the refs aren’t going to call it on each possession. You gotta give them credit. They're physical ... They kicked our ass"

 

[Rich]

BKN is up by 14 on Milwaukee at the end of 3.

Could be looking at another loss on Monday and then Phoenix next Thursday.

Probably just lose every game from here on out the rest of the season most likely. Might as well start tanking now.

 

[buzzdog]

Donovan Mitchell on the Raptors: "When you foul the whole game -- and they're really good at it -- they can foul the whole game and the refs aren’t going to call it on each possession. You gotta give them credit. They're physical ... They kicked our ass"

Leave it to Donovan to just come right out and say what many of us have been talking about when we play this thug team.

 

[Ohioplayer00]

Leave it to Donovan to just come right out and say what many of us have been talking about when we play this thug team.

The problem is they play this style (physical up in your face) every night so the refs adjust to their style of play. When finesse teams like the Cavs try to play that style they don’t get the benefit of those calls. It’s up to JBB and the players to make the adjustments. As I said in an earlier post when teams like the Raptors you don’t beat them with dribbling. It’s the second and third extra pass that exposes them on defense.

 

[macbdog]

I’m sure they were throwing an absolute rager in the below 0 weather.

It wasn't below zero Thursday night, I know, I drove home in it after attending an absolute rager.

 

[Mr. Orange]

Worst game of the year for the Cavs? If not it was one of them. Really too bad because it was almost a full house of people who braved the weather and a lot of kids since it was a Friday before Christmas game and wow they were awful from the start.

Garland completely careless. Mobley got sonned by Barnes and some others. (He prob shouldn’t have played). Mitchell was just off all night. And of course the Raptors shot the lights out. Flush it.

But the Raps do have our number.

 

[BigZ94]

Weirdly a small part of me hopes we get knocked out first round this year so JBB can get fired and we find a proper coach.. He has his “system”, if his system doesn’t work there’s never a plan B. This team has elite talent and I think most nba coaches would have a similar record with this squad, 3 allstars and 2 dpoy candidates… along with some nice talent off the bench.

Raptors have beaten us 3 times now in literally the same way… they aren’t good and we can’t adjust to them

Makes me scared at what’s gonna happen in 7 game series against good teams

Of course I don’t WANT us to lose but maybe for the greater good..

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

It looked to me like the Cavs could not stop the Raptors one-on-one and so another defender had to switch off his man and help, leading to an uncontested 3. We can't beat the Raptors when they're hitting 51% of their 3's. When you add in the big advantage in fast break points and offensive rebounds, it's a miracle we only lost by 11.

The 18 Raptor turnovers saved us from a nasty beatdown.

Mitchell was 4-for-16 and should have shot less and driven to the paint more, drawing fouls or passing off to a big. He thought if he kept shooting from outside he would find the range.

Okoro was the one bright spot with 15 points on only 6 shots. He also chipped in 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks in 20 minutes.

 

[Cavatt]

Raptors play defense with their hands and no one else is allowed to do that. In fact Okoro want allowed to play defense with his chest.

Hate the raps. Wish the team had a better plan because there are plenty of adjustments to make, but not if you make lazy passes and insist on the guards dribbling into traffic where they will be fouled but no foul will be called

 

[Rich]

Raptors are probably better than 14-18 but maybe not by that much.

They've got a lot of talent and all this length and yet they can't shoot the ball. It's pretty crazy Siakim is playing as well as he is with no spacing to work with at all.

 

[Rich]

Ultimately the Cavs weren't gonna win the game, most likely, with the Raptors shooting like that unless the Cavs shot similarly.

That said, gotta do a better job of figuring out how to exploit the mismatches the Raptors give you down low to play the lineups they play.

Felt we did a really poor job of that against a very thin front line of Dallas too, where Jarrett Allen barely saw the ball and Mobley only slightly more.

This will be kinda the book on the Cavs. Play length around the court and give up some size down low and see if the Cavs can recognize the mismatch and beat you with it.