The Cavaliers make their first trip north of the border on Thanksgiving eve – and Drake Night at the Air Canada Centre – to do battle against a Raptors (9-6) team they took three of four from last season.
Cleveland is coming off an extremely successful mini-homestand, winning all three games by double-digits – including a two-touchdown win over the Magic on Monday night at The Q. The Cavaliers took both contests in Toronto last season, averaging 112.5 points on an even 50 percent shooting from the floor, including 43 percent from beyond the arc, 27.5 assists to just 11.0 turnovers.
The Raptors, playing at home for just the fifth time this season, are coming off a five-game West Coast trip. They dropped their first three games of the trip – falling to Sacramento, Golden State and the Jazz before topping both L.A. teams before returning to Canada.
Cleveland isn’t the only team to come into tonight’s contest without its starting center.
The Raptors won the last two games of their West Coast trip, but the first of those came at a cost – as they lost their prized young big, Jonas Valanciunas, to a fractured left hand. With the large Lithuanian out of the lineup, the Raptors will have to play small more than they’re accustomed to – which will mean more time for James Johnson at center, although Bismack Biyombo got the start in Sunday’s win over the Clippers and led Toronto with 14 rebounds.
With Mozgov on the mend, Toronto native Tristan Thompson has moved into the starting center spot for Cleveland and all he’s done is grab double-digit boards in three straight games – including a game-high 14 boards (as many as Orlando’s combined starting five) on Monday night. Over the last three contests (starting two of those), Thompson has averaged 10.0 points on 60 percent shooting and 13.7 rebounds per.
The injury to Timo has also given Anderson Varejao new life – bouncing back from sparse playing time to average 6.7 points and 4.3 boards while shooting 80 percent from the floor over the last three games.
If it’s game night, it probably means that LeBron James is about to set or pass another NBA milestone – and tonight’s contest in Canada is no different – as the King needs only six points to surpass Reggie Miller for 18th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
On Monday night, James joined Oscar Robertson as the only two players in league history to be among the Top 25 all-time in both scoring and assists. After netting 30-plus points in five of six games heading into the homestand, LeBron has taken a backseat in the scoring column and has focused on distributing the ball – leading the Wine and Gold with 13 assists in Monday’s win and averaging 10.5 helpers over the past two contests.
The Cavs are very successful when LeBron – who won his NBA record 49th Eastern Conference Player of the Week award on Monday afternoon – weighs heavy in the scoring column, but they may be even better when he’s running the show. Last year, the squad was a perfect 12-0 when James had double-digit assists.
DeMarre Carroll admitted that James is the game’s greatest player, but he feels his Raptors will be ready to rumble when LeBron’s Cavs roll in on Wednesday. “It’s a great opportunity to play them,” said Carroll. “I think they’re the best team in the East right now. If you can’t get up for this game, you’re not a real NBA player.”
After missing the previous three games, Mo Williams will most likely be back in the starting lineup for Cleveland on Wednesday. After notching double-figures in seven of his previous eight outings before being slowed by a sore right ankle, Williams looks to rediscover his mojo north of the border.
While he was out, Matthew Dellavedova (who, himself, has been battling through an ankle injury) has been outstanding in relief. Over the last three, Delly’s averaging 11.3 points on 55 percent shooting, including 55 percent from long-range, to go with 8.3 assists per contest. On Monday night, the Aussie import finished with 15 points – going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc to go with nine helpers and a steal. In the previous contest against Atlanta – a team determined to shut him down – Delly handed out a career-high 13 assists. Over the past three games, Delly has totaled 25 assists to just three turnovers.
Both guys will have their hands full on Wednesday when they take on Toronto’s slimmed-down All-Star guard, Kyle Lowry — the Raptors’ second-leading scorer (20.1 ppg) and top assist man (6.5 apg).
As good as Lowry has been for the Raptors again this season, the man that makes them go is two-guard DeMar DeRozan, who leads Toronto in scoring and is averaging 21.0 ppg over his last five – including a 21-point effort in their win over the Clippers on Sunday and a 28-point outburst against Golden State two games before that. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the only player who gets to the line and make more free throws than LeBron and Kevin Love is DeRozan, who’s had 33 games of at least 10 makes from the stripe.
But on Wednesday night, DeRozan will have to face a player who gets hotter by the game – J.R. Smith. After getting off to a sluggish start, Smith has been very good of late – shooting an even 50 percent from the floor in three of the last four games – averaging 18.5 points over that span.
In Monday night’s win over Orlando, Smith went off for a season-high 26 points, going 6-for-10 from long-distance to go with a pair of assists and a steal.
