Recap: Raptors 116, Cavs 104 (or, The Spaghetti Test)

Many cookbooks or cooking shows will tell you the best way to see if pasta is ready is to throw it against the wall… and see if it sticks. This might, however, not necessarily be the best way to tell if an NBA team is ready for a regular season… or if a particular lineup is ready to stick together. That didn’t stop Tyronn Lue from donning his chef hat and apron, and start chucking handfuls of players into action at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on opening night Wednesday.

This new batch of Cavaliers flew full speed at the Raptors in a wild tangle, before hitting a wall in the second quarter. Things got a little soft and mushy in the middle before Chef Lue finally boiled up a slightly more al dente group that was able to stick a bit longer with what should be one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference this year. In the end, after all the noodles were slung, the game turned into bit of a saucy mess for the Cavs. Yet, contained within that chaos were definitely some strands they can cling to going forward.

Yes, the Cavaliers unsurprisingly lost to a more talented team on the road to start their season. A team that was most likely still simmering from the humiliation at being ignominiously swept out of the playoffs by Cleveland just a few short months ago. A team that can now boast one of the best players (when healthy) in the League… who now seems very healthy indeed. A team that no longer has to contend with the presence of the dude who changed the name of their city to LeBronto for the past four years. You could just tell from the jump that the Raptors came prepared to exact some revenge from their neighbors to the south.

Because it’s never too early in the season to torture a metaphor, once Chef Lue got past his starting five (less than five minutes into the game) he seemed to throw every possible rotation at the wall to see if it might stick. His first substitutions were Ante Zizic and Kyle Korver, but they were in and out in short order. In all, nine Cavs split time in the first quarter alone, which featured more substitutions than a wing it style recipe. It seemed to work well enough at the start, as the Cavs held their own for the most part by beating a steady path to the charity stripe, and somewhat limiting Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard. The Cavs got solid contributions from their starting back court of Rodney Hood and George Hill, as well as a dash of spice from Cedi Osman. However, both Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson struggled to put the ball in the hoop, though they did provide second chance opportunities on the boards.

The odd lineups continued in the second quarter, as Ty trotted out the quintet of Thompson, Sam Dekker, Osman, Jordan Clarkson and rookie Collin Sexton. Outside of Clarkson (the only Cav to make a bucket for the first six minutes of the quarter), it proved challenging for this group to hit shots. Meanwhile, the Raptors were sticking it to the soft Cavalier perimeter defense, when they weren’t taking it inside against the mushy interior. Clarkson’s hot shooting kept the Cavs close… at least until Kawhi checked back in and took over. The Raps went on a 14-6 run to end the half, with Lowry driving through the “teeth” of the defense to beat the buzzer and put Toronto up by 13.

After trading three point heaves, the Cavs closed it to 10 on a Cedi triple, but then Kyle and Kawhi went on a 10 point flurry to push the lead to 20. To their credit, the Cavs continued to fight when they could have let this one go. Osman, Ante Zizic and Rodney Hood all helped chip away at that deficit, though Lowry, Leonard and the Raptors kept bombing away. The wine & gold did manage to shave the advantage down to 15 by the end of the third, thanks to some stauncher defense, a couple of buckets from Love and the lone La Flama Blanca trey of the game.

.@JordanClarksons' 4 straight points pulls the @cavs within nine in the 4th quarter! Raptors lead 90-81. #CavsRaptors # BeTheFight

STREAM on the FOX Sports App: https://t.co/in4TKK5N1m pic.twitter.com/irngrc5QVU

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) October 18, 2018

The start of the fourth turned into the Jordan Clarkson v. Fred VanVleet show, as both guards were aggressively attacking and hitting shots. Collin Sexton then picked up the mantle, making his two baskets of the game and scoring five straight points. But, Serge Ibaka finally connected on one of his ridiculous straight on threes, and the Cavs turned it over on multiple possessions. Still, they never truly gave up, as they once again reached the bonus by drawing fouls on the Raptors. A few tough/questionable calls on Love as he played some pretty good defense on both VanVleet and Lowry kept the game just out of reach though (Kev even got a rare tech for expressing his frustration). The Cavs found themselves down by eight, and could have cut it to six with just under three minutes left… but Cedi got a layup impressively blocked by Pascal Siakam. From there, Toronto closed it out on a 7-3 run.

Undercooked

Collin Sexton played much less than I thought he would (just 18 minutes), but perhaps Ty Lue was protecting him a bit against a pair of tough covers in Lowry and VanVleet. He also got into a bit of early foul trouble. Like most rookies in their first NBA game that counts, Sexton looked mostly overmatched and underdone. His handle was shaky at times and his shot wasn’t really working. He also had four turnovers against zero assists, although two of the miscues were miscommunications with guys cutting the opposite direction. The Young Bull showed flashes defensively, however, and looked unafraid to take on the challenge. He also did his best Kyrie Irving impression on this teardrop off the glass…

Teardrop off the glass from @CollinYoungBull💧#BeTheFight pic.twitter.com/5YbCQ5n6JY

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) October 18, 2018

Ante Zizic and Kyle Korver each played just 14 minutes, but seemed to share the court for most of them, and played off of each other well. They were +11 and +13 respectively, and each could have probably been useful for longer stretches. It was interesting to see Ty Lue go to them both early, but curious that given their results they didn’t stay on the floor for a more extended time. ZZ made both of his shots (what else is new) for five points while pulling down three boards and dishing a pair of dimes. KK knocked down one of the two threes he took, but made heady plays on both ends of the floor. For a team that barely shot 40% on the night, both of these guys could have been utilized better.

Rodney Hood looked good early. He was aggressive, and his shot was falling. Then, once Clarkson started heating up, Ty Lue rode the hot hand and Rodney wasn’t the same when he checked back in late. We’ve witnessed how fragile Hood’s confidence can be in the past, so it stands to reason that proper deployment of his minutes should be a goal for the head coach to strive for. The chaotic rotations on this night did Hood no favors.

David Nwaba played just two minutes. During the first 30 seconds of that time, he was primarily responsible for getting torched by Kyle Lowry’s halftime buzzer beater. As rough as that looked, it’s unfair to fault him too much given his limited action. I’d much rather see Nwaba in smaller lineups instead of Sam Dekker, but it’s probably too much to ask him to guard bigger threes and fours. I suspect his usefulness could be unlocked more on the floor with Larry Nance when healthy.

Overall, the Cavs shooting (especially in the first half) left a lot to be desired. There still aren’t a lot of plays they seemingly run on offense, and they no longer have the abundance of ISO talents they once possessed to bail them out. Let’s hope Chef Ty can cook up some new wrinkles going forward.

Overcooked

Kevin Love was the poster child for trying to do too much in this one. He couldn’t buy a shot in the first half (1-9), and was generally fouled and banged around under the hoop by the Raptors. While he didn’t have his usual double digit rebound effort (seven for the game), he did rebound from a poor shooting night (5-18, 1-4 from three) to make his way to the line for 10-14 tries. As the lone All Star (so far) and leader of this team, Kev does need to understand that teams are going to load up on him. He also needs to control his frustration, even when he gets tough foul calls against him (he racked up five and a tech tonight). Mostly though, it’s going to be tough for this team to win on nights when Love’s shooting is off.

We’ve seen this Tristan Thompson before. Yes, he has a nose for rebounds (13). Yes, many of them are of the offensive variety (5). Yes, he’s still capable of playing some switchy defense when called upon. However, it’s one thing to play 4-on-5 basketball when three of those four are All Stars… it’s quite another when you’re already struggling to score points. His one pirouette hoop notwithstanding, TT probably needs to be used sparingly… and off the bench, once Nance is healthy.

We’re only 16 minutes into the Sam Dekker experience… and, I’ve already had enough. Okay, yes he had a nice sequence where he had a block, a steal and a run out dunk in just under a minute… but, for the most part, he looked like a G-Leaguer with his super high dribble and general indecisiveness. He will be hereby referred to as The Wrecker until he looks like more than a wet noodle.

Want a reheated issue? Look no further than Mike Longabardi’s overcooked defense. The Raptors went 14-33 from downtown, and Kyle Lowry was virtually unstoppable. I predict this problem will reach a boiling point in the near future… and hopefully we can stick a fork in Mike like so much limp pasta.

Just Right

Cedi Osman wasn’t perfect, but he certainly looked like the most effective all around Cav on the court for much of the night. The young Turk shot 50% (5-10) and made both of his threes, while filling up the stat sheet with 17 points, 10 boards, four assists and two steals. He also displayed his uncanny floor vision with a couple of laser passes that would make his mentor proud. His individual defense was solid, although the rotational team defense wasn’t always stellar during his 33 minutes on the court. He did have one of my favorite plays of the game though with this steal and coast-to-coaster…

Cedi with the steal then goes coast-to-coast 👀 @cediosman#BeTheFight pic.twitter.com/ZULbikCToH

— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) October 18, 2018

Jordan Clarkson did what few other Cavs could, and offered an ISO threat who could get buckets when other shots weren’t falling. He shot 7-15 for 15 points in 23 minutes, and had two key stretches where he almost single-handedly kept the Cavs in the game. To go with his instant offense, he also played some decent defense in spurts. As usual, there were no assists… although he did swing the ball on a few occasions. There will be bad shooting nights ahead, but relatively speaking… this was a pretty good version of what we can expect from JC.

I almost didn’t put George Hill in this group, given how much he was unable to stay in front of Kyle Lowry. However, putting up 15 points and seven dimes against just one turnover is not a bad outcome for your lead point guard. This is the type of game from Hill that can help not only win some games, but also make him a more attractive piece come trade deadline.

Parting Shot

On some level, I get Ty Lue throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks as an early season tactic… especially with the abbreviated pre-season this year, and the abundance of guys on the roster who need to play. Yet, he’s weirdly replaced his penchant for riding his former star for 40 minutes a night with a mandate that nobody can now play more than 33. And, this is without having to find time for a healthy Larry Nance or J.R. Smith. The rotations were erratic at best, and some of the pairings left me scratching my noodle. Here’s hoping Ty can find a better method of seeing who sticks together than just randomly tossing them out in a tangled mess.