Cleveland Cavaliers: First impressions in opener versus Toronto Raptors
The new era of Cleveland Cavaliers’ basketball started with a 116-104 loss to the Toronto Raptors on the road.
The Cleveland Cavaliers did a good job of hanging around in this game while having an off shooting night. The Toronto Raptors got up to a 20-point lead in the third quarter, but the Cavs were able to cut that lead down to seven halfway through the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for Cleveland, they weren’t able to string together enough stops and scores to really put the pressure on Toronto.
Kevin Love led the team in scoring with an inefficient 21 points on five-of-18 shooting from the field. In Love’s first game as the lone star without LeBron James, he struggled.
The defensive attention on him from the swarming Raptors’ defense near the rim made it difficult all night, but Love did at least get 14 free throw attempts (and he would make 10 of those). Love had three turnovers and had some rough whistles against him with five personal fouls.
Cedi Osman had a solid outing with 17 points on 50 percent shooting from the field with ten rebounds and four assists. George Hill and Jordan Clarkson added in 15 points each.
"We have to be a team that dictates the pace."@kevinlove lays out what the @cavs have to do in order to be successful this season. #BeTheFight pic.twitter.com/2cPM9dALvr
— Bally Sports Cincinnati (@BallySportsCIN) October 18, 2018
The Cavs did a good job of fighting on the road against a much more talented team. The Raptors have the potential to be the best defensive unit in the league and will be a force to be reckoned with in the East. Seeing the Cavs fight this well against a championship caliber team is encouraging.
Here’s what we learned from the season opener.