Recap: Cavaliers 105, Raptors 101 (Or, Italian for “Of the Widow”!!!!!)

In what may have been the most fun win of the season, the Cavaliers fought back from multiple 14 point deficits to top the Raptors for the second time in three early season meetings. After giving up 47 points in the first 16 minutes of the contest and a season high 63 in the first half, the Cavs finished the game on a 20-6 scoring run. LeBron led the team with 35 points on 21 shots, but the victory was secured by the gritty second half defense of Tristan Thompson and Mathew Dellavedova.

1st Quarter: The Cavaliers started the evening with some nice high low action for a Kevin Love dunk. Opposing teams realize that the Cavs are looking to establish Love on the block early in games. An overplay on Love’s high side led Anderson Varejao to flash to the stripe before delivering a beautiful bounce pass to Love. In general, Kevin did a great job of using his body against the the opposition on the offensive end. Any time the defender got too high, Love would pivot and pin, setting up a lob over the top for an easy bucket.

Though the Cavaliers offense was relatively solid, the defense was getting torched. The Raptors hit 67% of their shots in the first. Terrence Ross scored eight of the Raptors first 10 points. No one cared to bother Jonas Valanciunas during his many rolls to the rim. The Lithuanian big man played a nice game, but dunking against air is not such a difficult task for a seven-footer. There was more confusion on PnR defense than there has been in recent games as both Bigs frequently were caught in the middle of assignments.

The Raptor defense was pesky with Kyle Lowry at the head. His bulldog reputation is well earned. With 1:21 left, he straight ripped LeBron and battled two Cavs on the floor before getting a timeout. Lowry was in control on both ends. Still, some crafty floaters off PnR by Andy and a mixture of scoring from ‘Bron and Love kept the Cavs close until Dion Waiters continued his hot streak. Dion had a quick eight in an attempt keep pace with the streaking Raptors. After one, it was 31-23, Toronto.

2nd Quarter: The Cavs trotted out a lineup featuring Delly, Kyrie, Dion, James Jones, and Tristan to start the period. If that looks weird to you, it’s because it is. Though he was essentially the power forward in this lineup, James Jones wasn’t really required to bang down low. The Raptors countered with Patrick Patterson and undersized Chuck Hayes up front. Offensively, the ball was whipped around the perimeter with grace. The spacing and ball movement provided great looks from deep.

Unfortunately, James Johnson abused people on his way to the bucket. Johnson is an incredibly talented player. He is also one of the few guys in the league who can truly match LeBron’s mix of size and speed. With no rim protection and Kyrie guarding him, Johnson was able to get into the paint at will. With 8:00 min remaining and down 45-36, Marion, Love, and Bron returned to the game.

Anderson had three very questionable calls go against him in the first half that allowed Valanciunas to do damage at the line. Kyle Lowry was racking up assists by cleverly holding his dribble and patiently letting cutters cut. LeBron checked him for much of the second quarter, but he couldn’t really shut Lowry down. LeBron did create some havoc in the passing lanes generating this lovely reverse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC4XNoh0RWE#t=1m30s

Bron followed up the dunk with a beautiful running hook off glass. I will assume he called bank. The King finished with 16 first half points, but Jonas Valanciunas nearly matched with 14 of his own. At the half, a terrifying 63-55, bad guys.

3rd Quarter: I’m not sure what David Blatt said at halftime, but the defensive pressure was completely different coming out of the locker room. Each team only scored two points over the first three minutes of the quarter, but the momentum and activity level felt different, even if the results weren’t hugely positive. The Raptors were still hitting shots at an alarming rate. They were nailing on 64% late into the quarter as Lowry continued to hit well-timed cutters. But, the Cavaliers began to make the Raptors “feel them” as Mike Brown used to say. Over the last three minutes, the Raptors went 1-8 while Dion and Delly drained a couple threes, and Kyrie finished the quarter’s scoring with an awesome left-handed layup. Going into the final frame, 88-81 Raps.

4th Quarter: Dion and his good luck charm, Dellavedova started in the backcourt with Bron, Love, and TT up front. Delly matched up with Lowry and the annoyER became the annoyEE. Matthew constantly fought over screens, and when he couldn’t make it, expertly stayed with the roll man. He, like always, is ridiculously annoying. I love it. Moreover, Delly seems to be Dion’s spirit, a sage, or simply a dude who passes him the ball. For whatever reason, Delly and Dion are comfortable together at guard. More importantly in this game, Delly reminded the Cavaliers that Tristan can dunk. On two consecutive possessions, Delly curled around into a PnR, Tristan rolled hard, and Delly found him for an alley-oop. Mathew runs this play beautifully. He doesn’t cross over the defender and block his own roll man. He doesn’t give up his handle too early. He simply continues his path to the rim until the help is forced to come before delivering a beautifully soft alley pass. Tristan mishandled one pass and Kyrie missed a wide open corner three off the same action, but the Raptors had no real answer. Defensively, Delly picked up a charge, almost got a tie up as he recovered to a roll man, and was a beast boxing out Amir Johnson. That “Of the Widow” was a difference maker.

When LeBron checked in for Dion at the 7:51 mark, the Cavs were still down 95-86. LeBron picked up PnR responsibilities from Delly, but now that the defense feared Tristan’s roll, LeBron got some easy looks. A running banker from Bron and a defensive stop put the crowd into frenzy with about five minutes remaining. Love missed what would have been a huge three, but the Cavs kept the defensive pressure and Love connected the next time he had an opportunity. Kyrie knotched his tenth assist of the evening when he hit Kevin sweetly off the bounce in the left corner.

Patrick Patterson hit a jumper to put the Raptors up two. The next Cavs possession was extended twice by Delly offensive rebounds(I don’t care what the scorer decided, those first two boards were Delly’s) and once by Tristan. Unfortunately, the Cavs missed all four shots. But, Tristan wasn’t done giving the Cavs extra chances. His last board led to this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC4XNoh0RWE#t=3m16s

LeBron tied Mark Price for most three pointers in Cavs history with 802 with the shot. Keep watching the highlight to watch Tristan Thompson finish the win with fantastic individual defense against Kyle Lowry.

Thoughts: The bench looks about a million times better with Mathew Dellavedova back. Watching Delly attach his chest to an opposing offensive player is a joy to watch. His understanding of when to stick the roll man, and when to reclaim his own man is subtle, but brilliant. His presence ironically helps and hurts Dion Waiters. Delly will continue getting crunch time minutes if he defends like he did last night. Still, he and Dion work well together on the court. We saw it down the stretch last season, and it has been apparent in the last two games.

The Cavs have finally started to show some double screen action that pops Love to the perimeter and Tristan to the rim. It isn’t the straight up double PnR that Dallas runs so well, but I will settle for anything at this point. Tristan’s dunk right down the middle of the floor was off that type of action.

LeBron had a quiet 35 playing primarily as a scorer. Kyrie’s shot has been just a touch off the past few games, but he picked up his assists numbers in its stead. Perhaps the national commentators will notice and stop their point guard moaning for a second. The team can function well with either as a primary distributor.

Tristan played a wonderful fourth quarter after many people began to prematurely award round 1,223 to Jonas Valanciunas. By game’s end, it was a draw. Tristan has transformed his game yet again. Seriously, when was the last time you saw him get into the lane for his little righty jump hook? He continues to accept his role, and his roll responsibilities. (Yes, I did!)

The Raptors are good. James Johnson gives them that large wing defender who can match up with the elite guys in the league. Johnson obviously isn’t quite to that level, but his size, toughness and handle complete the squad. When DeRozan returns, it’s a team without any true holes. They would be a difficult and entertaining playoff opponent.

The Cavaliers have won eight consecutive games. Winning basketball is fun.