There’s no NBA championship hangover for these Cavaliers. LeBron James and the Cavs kicked off their title defense on Tuesday by crushing the Knicks at home, 117-88.
During the demolition of New York, James showed how ready he is for this season by casually putting up a t triple-double effort, racking up 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. He should once again be a force later tonight against the same Toronto team that he dominated in last season’s Eastern Conference final series. In support of James are Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, who also had fantastic performances in the Knicks game.
Irving had a game high 29 points, while Love had 23 points on 6-for-15 from the field including two triples , while grabbing 12 rebounds. Love’s ability to stretch the floor will be vital in limiting the defensive impact of Toronto big man Jonas Valanciunas. Plucking out Valanciunas out of the shaded lane means more opportunities to score inside for the Cavs, who had 52 points inside the paint against New York. Cleveland is 4-2 SU and ATS in its last six meetings with the Raptors.
DeMar DeRozan was simply the best in Toronto’s season-opening 109-91 home win over Detroit on Wednesday. The high-scoring guard exploded for 40 points on 17-for-27 shooting from the field.
DeRozan got ample amount of support from Jonas Valanciunas, who made mincemeat of the Pistons’ interior defense by unloading 32 points to go with 11 rebounds. Cleveland’s going to be a different challenge for the Raptors, who will need all hands on deck to defeat the defending league champions.
That means better performance from All-Star guard Kyle Lowry, who made just 10 points on a poor 3-for-13 shooting from the field in the Detroit game. Hopefully for the Raptors, the sight of the team that whipped them in last season’s ECF will light a fire under Lowry.
Stopping LeBron James is next to impossible these days but DeMarre Carroll can at least help slow down the four-time MVP. Carrol only had eight points against Detroit but the Raptors were +21 when he was on the floor.
Toronto is 4-1 ATS in its last five home games against Cleveland.
