This Wednesday, the (0-0) Cleveland Cavaliers will travel to Toronto, ON to take on the (0-0) Toronto Raptors. Tip-off will be at 7:30 PM EST inside Scotiabank arena. Both of these Eastern Conference teams will be looking for a better start to this season, as neither of them could make a deep playoff run last year.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming into this season after not making the playoffs in 2021. They did add multiple new players to their team, though. Donovan Mitchell was traded over from the Jazz and they also re-signed Darius Garland, as these two will look to lead the Cleveland backcourt.
The Toronto Raptors lost in the first round of the playoffs last season, as they struggled on the offensive side of the floor. Their team is still the same, as they didn't lose or add any key pieces for this season. Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet will be looking to make another postseason run.
The Cleveland Cavaliers finished last season with a (44-38) record, as this put them in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings. They were eliminated in the play-in tournament, as they will be looking to make a postseason run this year. They also traded for Donovan Mitchell from the Jazz, as this team will look slightly different.
On offense, the Cavaliers scored 107.7 points per game and had an adjusted offensive rating of 111.1. This was the 20th-highest adjusted rating in the NBA and the 25th most points scored per game. They had issues consistently putting the ball in the basket, as they struggled to shoot from the floor. Cleveland had an effective field goal shooting percentage of 53.8%, which was the 14th highest in the league. They also had an effective three-point shooting percentage of 53.2%. This was the 15th-highest in the league, as they could get hot from behind the arc at different times last sea son. Last year, Daris Garland was the leading scorer for the Cavs, as he averaged 21.7 points per game. They will now add Mitchell to this group, as they will be without Sexton. Mitchell averaged 25.9 points per game last season, and he will also be looking to help the Cavaliers on the offensive side of the floor.
On defense, the Cavaliers were better than most people thought. They only gave up 105.8 points per game, which was the fifth least in the league and they had an adjusted defensive rating of 109.3. This was also the fifth-lowest rating in the league, as they continued to make it tough on their opponents to score. The Cavaliers also averaged 4.2 blocks per game and 7.1 steals, as they continued to put pressure on the opposing offense. They aren't afraid of contact and they have multiple big men that can defend the paint. Watch for Jarrett Allen, as he averaged 1.3 blocks per game last season. Cleveland was average on the defensive glass, as well. T hey averaged 33.9 defensive rebounds per game, which was the 15th most in the league. They have to control the defensive glass if they want to keep the Raptors from scoring second and third-chance points.
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