Recap: Toronto 103, Cleveland 99 (or, That Point Guard is Ripped)

2015-11-25 Off By Ben Werth

The Cleveland Cavaliers sailed to the North feeling confident, if not completely well. Though Mo Williams returned to game action, Matthew Dellavedova joined starters Timofey Mozgov, Iman Shumpert and Kyrie Irving on the fashion bench. Without the Cavs defensive studs and All-Star PG, David Blatt was left to experiment with a different rotation. Dwayne Casey had his all everything point guard, Kyle Lowry, but was also down his giant foreign center. Well, one of them anyway. Let’s get to it.

1st Quarter:

With Delly out and Mo Williams freshly activated after a three game absence, David Blatt chose to start Jared Cunningham at the point. LeBron and Love continue to be the only full-time starters in the early part of this season without the injury bug. Love’s presence on the post opened up an easy cut for the game’s first points, as LeBron found TT in the lane.

Bismack Biyombo started for the injured Jonas Valanciunas at center, but the real story of the first quarter for the Raptors’ front court was Luis Scola. The veteran Argentine posted and jump shot his way to 15 first quarter points in his matchup against Kevin Love. Love played hard as well, going for a cool eight and eight. The Cavs made a point of looking for early post position. The good floor balance and ball kickouts led to a high assist rate.

Mo returned to action at the 5:17 mark and immediately contributed positively on offense. After Love hit his first left wing triple, Mo’s ball push the next possession resulted in a repeat left wing bomb. The Raptors closed the quarter with a nine to two run, featuring a couple DeMar DeRozan buckets and a DeMarre Carroll three to tie the game. After one, 25-25.

2nd Quarter:

Mo, Jared, RJ, Champ, and Andy started the second quarter with six consecutive misses before a timeout at the 9:16 mark. Ball and body movement were poor, and the Raptors slowly built a 32-25 lead. Out of the timeout, Tristan replaced Andy, Swish replaced a clearly gassed Williams, and LeBron subbed for RJ. It didn’t pay off immediately, but LeBron’s left wing three stopped the Raptor 19-2 run to close the gap to seven. His subsequent free throws after a Rondo-esque fake behind the back drive moved The King into 18th place all time on the scoring list.

LeBron’s barrage was just beginning. James scored or assisted on all but three points of a 16-0 run that forced the Raptors to call a timeout at the 5:09 mark. The outstanding ball movement reminded Fred McLeod of a conversation he had with James Jones in which the Champ claimed that the Cavs’ ball movement this season is better than at any time during his Miami run.

Fortunately for basketball fans, Kyle Lowry returned to the floor after a brief trip to the locker room. Unfortunately for the Cavs, he promptly posted up to end the Cavalier run. Some rough play on both ends begged some questionable officiating, but it evened out in the end. It wasn’t the most enjoyable basketball to watch, but the effort was good from both teams. Heading to the break, 49s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk2Mm4Dh6x8

3rd Quarter:

Mo Williams started the third in place of Jared Cunningham. The Raptors’ offense is customarily very isolation heavy, but it hummed more smoothly in the first part of the quarter. Some good drive and kick action led to wide open right corner threes from Carroll. The only problem for the Raptors was Kevin Love’s unconscious shooting from behind the arc. KLove drilled three more bombs and dropped in a couple from the charity stripe for good measure. Kyle Lowry continued to probe the offense with his mini bully ball to help the Raps survive until the first extended timeout of the quarter.

LeBron made some tough jumpers and the defense tightened, but the Raptors fought hard. Carroll, Lowry and Biyombo are all excellent, hardnosed defenders. Nothing came easy for either squad. When LeBron checked out with just under three minutes remaining in the quarter, the Cavs led 73-70.

Kyle Lowry came out of the timeout looking to destroy poor Jared Cunningham. Lowry drove straight through Jared for an And-1 opportunity. The Raptors took a one point lead when Biyombo tipped in Lowry’s free throw. Directly after, the pit bull point guard hounded Cunningham before picking his pocket. A couple possessions later, the Drakes brilliantly put Jared and Mo into a Pick and Roll. Opposing teams would be smart to do that anytime the two players share the floor. The subsequent layup pushed the Raps’ paint scoring advantage to 38-20. Kyle Lowry is ridiculously strong and dropped in two more muscle bound drives.

The Raptor lead was only five, but the Cavs felt Mozgov’s absence. It looked like the Raptors were going to take that lead and all the momentum into the final quarter, when Mo Williams nailed a 47-footer at the buzzer. One quarter to go, 82-80 Toronto.

4th Quarter:

Mo, RJ, Bron, Love, and Andy trotted out to start the fourth. Mo hit Jefferson for a nice alley-oop to tie the game in the quarter’s first offensive possession. The next five minutes of game action featured a total of six points. Neither team was playing that horribly on offense or that wonderfully on defense. Still, a combination of the two gave the arena some high effort, low scoring entertainment. Then, with under seven to play, the Raptors broke through with hard drives to the hoop and a three from Kyle Lowry to take a  91-84 lead.

The Cavs made some progress on the offensive end after the timeout, but they still couldn’t stop Lowry’s drives to the hoop. On the rare occasion that they did, Bismack Biyombo grabbed a tough offensive board and putback. A great passing sequence for the Raptors ended with a splashed corner three and a ten point lead with two minutes remaining. Biyombo dunks off of blown PnR coverage ended the Cavaliers’ comeback hopes. Two JR Smith bombs in the waning seconds made the score more indicative of its close nature.

Thoughts:

52-28. That was the paint scoring advantage for the Raptors. It allowed them to overcome their horrible free throw shooting and inconsistent three point defense. The Cavs couldn’t stop Kyle Lowry from getting into the paint. Lowry bullied and stutter-stepped his way into the lane for 27 points and six assists. When it comes to Kyle Lowry, the stats are secondary. His physicality is consistently amazing. He takes on much taller players with force. He attacks opposing ball-handlers with a fury. Lowry is one of my favorite players to watch because it is clear that he is misery for the opposition.

It’s a shame Delly wasn’t good to go for this contest. Lowry versus Delly should be required viewing. In fact, the Raptors provide many intriguing matchups for the Cavs. We saw what Carroll versus LeBron looks like last spring. The first quarter of this matchup featured a battle between Luis Scola and Kevin Love. Biyombo vs Tristan is interesting for contractual reasons as well. The Raptors could be a pain for the Cavs come playoff time.

Ah yes, Bismack Biyombo. I love the guy. Many of us here at C:tB have pushed for his acquisition in some way or another over the past few years. He showed his value in this contest. Taking over for the injured Jonas Valanciunas, Biyombo provided great rim protection on defense and active rebounding and rolling on offense. He and Lowry provided the punch to close out the game. I know the ship has sailed, but how much does he make again? How many drives to the hole did Tristan allow? Ok, I’m done. No need to go there.

LeBron went 11-12 from the line. Things are looking up there.

Speaking of a sweet stroke, Kevin Love drained five more threes. The offense stalled in the late third and fourth quarters, but Love’s hot shooting extended to another night. A happy development indeed.

tday-300x225_jpg_pagespeed_ce_9trjn3QeogAnd with that I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. It has always been my favorite holiday, and I am lucky to be able to spend it with my family this year. Yet, part of the reason that I love the holiday is that I have had great evenings with many international friends in the years that I have been abroad. Everyone seems to enjoy good food and time with friends. I implore all of you to invite a foreign friend to their first Thanksgiving. It is a wonder for them and a pleasant antidote to any burgeoning familial strife. Go Cavs. Go Turkey.

 

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