Winners of 9 of 12 the Cavaliers complete their home stand and move on to Toronto. The Raptors are even hotter, having won 11 of 12 including a 2-0 record against the Cavs with both games in Cleveland. Both teams played yesterday and both are playing their 3rd game in 4 days. Of the Raptors last 11 wins, 7 have come against teams with losing records.
The Raptors won the first meeting 112-101 as Mitchell, Garland, Allen, and Merrill were all out. Jamison Battle came off the bench to score 20 points in 15 minutes for a +28. Since that game he has 11 points in 7 games. A guy who gets a lot of DNP-CD's torched us then disappeared into the night.
The Raptors won the second game 126-113 as the Cavs were missing Garland and Tyson. Scottie Barnes had a line of 28/10/8, Quickley went 10-for-13 for 25 points, and Mamukelashvili had 13 off the bench in 17 minutes. Who is going to come off their bench and destroy us this time?
RJ Barrett left yesterday’s game with a knee sprain so it’s safe to say he will be out. That will be a big loss as Barrett has a slash line of 20/5/4. Brandon Ingram has a line of 21/6/4, Scottie Barnes’ line is 20/8/5, and Immanuel Quickley’s line is 16/5/6. It’s like all four of them are the same player, at least statistically.
Jakob Poeltl shoots 74% and averages 11 points and 8 boards. Sandro Mamukelashvili averages 10 points on 56% overall and 45% on 3’s off the bench.
In two games against the Cavs the Raptors averaged 119 points on 52% from the field and 41% on 3’s. Not great defense by the Cavs but the Raptors rank 5th in the NBA in scoring at 121 ppg.
In last night’s win over Brooklyn the Raptors had eight players score between 11-17 points. They probably have the most balanced scoring team in the league. They are 1st in the NBA in assists per possession so they love to move the rock.
The Raptors lead the league in fast break points per game at 21. In the first game they had 12 but in the second they had 28. The Cavs can’t give up 28 fast break points and win.
The Raptors are excellent shooters ranking 3rd in effective field goal percentage. They don’t take a lot of 3’s (27th) but they make the ones they take (3rd in 3-point shooting percentage). They like to fast break and shoot a lot of 2’s. They rank 8th in frequency of shots at the rim and 27th on frequency of 3’s. They’re 23rd in offensive rebound percentage so they don’t really crash the offensive glass a lot.
The Raptors are 9th in scoring defense. They defend the 3-point shot very well (3rd) but are below average against 2’s (23rd). They rank 22nd in block percentage and they foul a lot, ranking 25th in opponents’ free throw attempts per possession. All these numbers say to take it to the rim, draw fouls, and get layups as opposed to cranking up a lot of 3’s on the second night of a BTB on the road against an elite 3-point defense. And stop their transition game.
No word yet on whether Allen, Merrill, or CPJ will play. Ball should be back to augment the group that beat the Clippers on Sunday. Mitchell and Mobley played 33 and 34 minutes last night but nobody else played more than 29.
Wanna hear something crazy? In 7 road games the Cavs are averaging 125.6 points. In 10 home games they’re averaging 115.9. They’re almost 10 points better on the road. But the Cavs are 8-3 at home and 4-3 on the road.
Injury Report
CLEVELAND
Dean Wade - QUESTIONABLE (knee)
Jarrett Allen - OUT (finger)
De’Andre Hunter - OUT (rest)
Sam Merrill - OUT (wrist)
Craig Porter Jr - OUT (hamstring)
Darius Garland - OUT (injury management)
Max Strus - OUT (foot)
TORONTO
Jakob Poeltl - QUESTIONABLE (rest)
RJ Barrett - OUT (knee)
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