One revelation that seems to be coming to fruition this season is that the Eastern Conference might actually be as tough as we all thought it would be before the season began. The Cleveland Cavaliers experienced that firsthand yesterday when they traveled to Toronto to take on the 6th-place Raptors.
After getting their doors blown off by the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night, they got back to their winning ways, when the Cavaliers beat the Detroit Pistons 102-94 on Sunday evening. Unfortunately they couldn’t tally another win last night up north.
The Cavaliers fell to the Raptors 100-88, in a sluggish game on Monday night. Raptors wing OG Anunoby led all players in minutes (37) and points (20) last night to guide Toronto to the win. Pascal Siakam also pitched in with another double-double for the season, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in his return from injury.
The Cavs had a dreadful shooting night, connecting on only 37% of their shots, including only 17% (7-of-38) from three. Donovan Mitchell had a rare off night, finishing with only 8 points on 3-of-11 shooting from the field. Evan Mobley kept the Cavaliers alive all night with his defending and rebounding, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Cavs from suffering their 8th loss of the year.
Before the Cavs continue their tough Eastern Conference stretch against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, let’s take a look at one stud and one dud from last night’s ugly loss to that scrappy Toronto squad.