Its Drake Night at the Air Canada Centre and the Toronto Raptors are finally home to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers for their first encounter of the season. A much needed 91-80 win on Sunday evening against the Los Angeles Clippers, concluded the Raptors five game road trip out West. After starting the season off with eleven out of their first fifteen games on the road, the Raptors are back home to take on the reigning Eastern conference champs in LeBron James and the Cavs. The Cavaliers are looking to pick up their fourth straight win while the Raptors look for their third straight victory. One streak will continue and one will come to an end as both teams square off tonight at 7:30 EST.
We're ready. #DrakeNight #WeTheNorth pic.twitter.com/TyLkCN0OnX
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) November 25, 2015
Raptors Cage’s Key to the Game:
Rebound The Ball
When you have players on the opposition like Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson and Timothy Mozgov; rebounding needs to be a priority. The Cavaliers are sixth in the NBA in rebounding averaging 46.4. Expect to see a total team effort in rebounding tonight from the Raptors as they try and contain Love and Thompson who are both ranked top 10 in the NBA in rebounding.
Move The Ball
The Raptors are ranked 28th in the NBA in assists averaging 18.4 on the season. The offensive game-plan needs to change for the Raptors tonight if they look to come out as victors tonight. When the Raptors run less isolation plays and actually move the ball, great things happen. It equals to great shots in transition with generally five players involved on the offensive end instead of just one. Let’s all pray that DeMar DeRozan does not go 1 vs 5 against the Cavaliers tonight.
Get To The Line:
The Raptors are currently first in the league at getting to the free throw line, attempting about (28.9) a game. Attempting 31 free throws on Sunday against the Clippers, the Raptors should continue to attack the rim and get the Cavaliers in foul trouble as they average 20.4 fouls this season.
X Factor: DeMarre Carroll
The Raptors will need Carroll to be phenomenal on defense as he has been this season to contain the best player in the world, LeBron James. LeBron has a nine game winning streak in Toronto and is 35-7 all-time against the club. The last time LeBron lost in Toronto, Chris Bosh was still in a Raptors uniform and DeRozan appeared in his first NBA game.
