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TORONTO — There are some interesting parallels between the Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who met Wednesday night to kick off the 2022-23 NBA season.
A year ago around this time, they were both young teams trying to find each other, hoping that their top big rookie men could help speed up their respective retools.
Thanks in large part to the development of these first-year players, each playing alongside a pair of emerging stars, both clubs have exceeded expectations. They shared a strength – their stifling defenses – but struggled to shoot the ball and score consistently in the half-court. Then, once injuries took their toll, their promising seasons came to an end, with Cleveland failing to qualify for the Qualifying Tournament and Toronto being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
But that’s where the similarities end, as the two franchises diverged over the summer.
The Raptors opted for patience. They will look to continuity and organic growth for short-term gains while preserving their assets for another day. The Cavs went all-in, acquiring star guard Donovan Mitchell for a substantial package including young players and a series of unprotected first-round picks.
These opening night opponents make for interesting test subjects coming into the new campaign.
Cleveland is betting Mitchell can fix the team’s offensive issues and hopes it doesn’t come at the expense of their greatest strength; he’s not exactly known for his work at the defensive end of the field. Meanwhile, the Raptors have taken a look at what they do best. They were long and now they are longer. They were versatile and now they are more versatile. The hope is that they are good enough at what they do well to make up for some of the things they don’t do.
Which approach will win in the end? It’s not something that can be answered after a game, but the first of the first comebacks can justify either team.
Mitchell was as good as advertised Wednesday, scoring 31 points in his Cavs debut. They have a pair of elite rim protectors in Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley who more than made up for defensive shortcomings in Mitchell and Darius Garland, who left the game in the first half after getting stung in the eye .
But in the final moments and with the game on the line, it was the Raptors who seemed more comfortable — a benefit of their familiarity and all the chemistry they’ve spent the past 12 months building. Toronto put the pincers on the visiting Cavs, beating them 32-21 in the fourth quarter en route to a 108-105 comeback win on Opening Night.
“I think we just stuck to the game plan, tightened up a few points,” said Pascal Siakam, who led the team with 23 points and 11 rebounds, and was one of six Toronto players to score in double digits – all five starters had at least 15 points. “I think it helps that we had the same group last year, so we sort of know each other.”
Some familiar concerns also surfaced here and there. Their bench, which was last in the league to score a year ago, was outscored 33-18. Their overnight scoring drought came in the second quarter, as the Cavs pulled off a quick 13-0 run.
But, as often last season, their defense bailed them out. There was typical Game 1 miscommunication to that end, especially in the second and third quarters when they gave up 62 points, but they were much more connected than most teams are at the start of the campaign.
You could see it right away. Stealing, like the Toronto defense does when locked down and at its best, Siakam caught a pass from Garland leading to a three-pointer from Gary Trent Jr. in transition just minutes later. With their regular starters together, the Raptors held Cleveland 36% in the first quarter, then flipped the switch again in the fourth.
With less than four minutes remaining and the Cavs up one point, three Raptors players swarmed Allen, with Fred VanVleet’s quick hands snatching the ball away and initiating a quick break opportunity that led to a dunk for Scottie Barnes. . They ran both ways until the very end, when they managed to give the foul and put Cleveland on the line by three-pointers with seconds left on the clock.
“[It] it feels good not to teach on the fly,” said VanVleet, who scored 15 points. “We certainly had our share of mistakes. But it was more normal, doing what you wanted to do. Having been in these situations for the last year, I think there are side effects. Can certainly be better and will have to be better in the future, but we’ll take it. I think we fought hard, brought great energy. It’s a good start.
The Raptors wouldn’t have been able to make their late push without Siakam, who was brilliant in the first half and kept his team in the game during their otherwise shaky second quarter. This time last year, he was watching from the bench, still recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. After a career year and a solid summer, he was in good shape mid-season on Wednesday.
Like his club, Barnes finished strong. The reigning rookie of the year bounced back from his quiet first half to make an impact on the fourth quarter run. He scored six of his 15 points and recorded four of his seven assists in the final frame, eventually edging out Mobley, fellow sophomore and last year’s award runner-up, who scored 14 points for Cleveland.
Despite their suddenly opposing styles of play, it’s pretty clear how even these two teams are. Even Vegas has Cleveland and Toronto finishing two wins apart in sixth and seventh places, respectively, in the loaded Eastern Conference.
It will take time for the Cavs to figure things out; it happens to any team working on a new high-profile piece. Once they do, they’re going to be dangerous. At least they should be, given the cost of this part.
While the Raptors checked in, as they do whenever a star player is made available, they never considered themselves serious suitors for Mitchell, sources say — not at the asking price Utah, in any event. As good as Mitchell was offensively, and as much as he could have helped correct some of their more glaring weaknesses, they didn’t see him as a good candidate.
Last October, the Raptors looked over their heads on opening night. It was Toronto’s first game since before the pandemic and Washington held them to 83 points at home. This team was months away from establishing an identity. This team, while not without flaws, knows who they are and how they should win games.
“You always enter [the season] trying to figure out what the cap is and how to get there,” Nurse said before Game 1. “That’s why an evening like this is so precious, because we’re going to learn a lot tonight and tomorrow about the steps to take to get where we can go.”
“I think this team has a chance. They have to play hard. They tend to play hard, guard and compete. I think we are difficult to play against us. It’s just continuing to climb that ladder where our team can go.
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