Gameday: Raptors @ Cavaliers, January 9th

The Toronto Raptors are rolling into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in an attempt to end the Cleveland Cavaliers win streak. This season, Toronto and Cleveland are on opposite ends of the NBA spectrum. Toronto is losing an exorbitant amount of games, which included one of the longest losing streaks in franchise history while Cleveland is having one of the greatest starts to a season in franchise history which includes their current 11 game winning streak. 

Toronto’s starting lineup and majority of the rotation is finally healthy, but there have been some growing pains with the unit at full strength. Gradey Dick’s usual brand of fiery offense supported by his movement and shooting has been lackluster as of late, Immanuel Quickley has had some up and down performances since his return four games ago. As things progress and the starters get more time with each other the performances should look better, this team clearly has talent but that talent has to find the best way to mesh together to truly compete and this Cleveland team is as big a test as they’re going to have. 

Cleveland’s weakness defensively is their backcourt so Quickley has to take advantage of that and really hurt them in the pick n’ roll. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are one of the best if not the best defensive frontcourt in the NBA and they switch throughout multiple positions so Toronto should attack these switches with various ghost screens and slips to the basket which can allow Quickley and Scottie Barnes to have easy playmaking outlets. 

Cleveland is the number one team in the NBA record wise and it’s no accident. They currently have the number one offensive rating in the league at 121.5 points per 100 possessions while also having the number 8 defense in the league. They are an extremely balanced team that can attack you in many different ways. Donovan Mitchell is their most prolific player on offense, his explosive athleticism combined with his tight handle and elite pull-up shooting make guarding him a tall task. 

Toronto’s point-of-attack defense has struggled this season to say the least and the combination of Mitchell and Darius Garland attacking it could prove troublesome. Davion Mitchell should see some minutes tonight in order to attempt to combat Cleveland’s lethal backcourt. Mobley has also been having his best season as a pro so far, his self-creation scoring has been very strong and he has not given mismatches any slack. Cleveland has so many options offensively that it will take a cohesive defensive unit to even have hopes of stopping them. They faced an elite defense in the OKC Thunder last night and scored 129 on them, so Toronto really has its work cut out.

Toronto having their full starting lineup back is a great thing, and although they have been losing a lot of games, you at least want to see consistent flashes of what this team could be in the future, and tonight against an elite team is the perfect time for those flashes to shine through.

Game Info

Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m. ET

Television: TSN

Radio: Sportsnet 590 The Fan

Starting Lineups (Projected)

Cleveland Cavaliers

PG: Darius Garland

SG: Donovan Mitchell

SF: Isaac Okuro

PF: Evan Mobley

C: Jarrett Allen

Toronto Raptors

PG: Immanuel Quickley

SG: Gradey Dick

SF: RJ Barrett

PF: Scottie Barnes

C: Jakob Poeltl

Injury Report

Cavaliers

Sam Merrill (Ankle) – Questionable

Raptors

Ochai Agbaji (Back) – Questionable

Lines

Team	Spread	Money	Total
Cleveland Cavaliers	-15 (-112)	-1350	O 235 (-108)
Toronto Raptors	+15 (-108)	+800	U 235 (-112)

*Odds as of Jan. 9, 12:00 am ET*

All Toronto Raptors odds are provided by NBA Betting Site Betway!

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