Did Cavaliers Need A 'Kick In The Face' Following Five-Game Win Streak?

Five thoughts on the Cavs 118-107 loss to the Toronto Raptors

There aren’t many nights when the Cleveland Cavaliers come out and lay and egg. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s team may have an off-night shooting, rebounding and even defending at times, but the effort is typically there on a nightly basis.

Friday night was not one of those nights.

As the temperatures plummeted in across Northeast Ohio throughout the day and blizzard warnings forced fans to dress like Randy from a Christmas Story to trudge into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the Cavs couldn’t seem to thaw out against the Toronto Raptors.

Three different Raptors eclipsed the 20-point plateau as Toronto rolled to a 118-107 win on Friday night, snapping the Cavaliers five-game winning streak.

Rare is the night the Cavs look lackadaisical, disorganized, and uninterested. Friday night was the last game before the Christmas break, and it felt like the Cavs were sitting in geometry staring out the window waiting for the bell to ring.

It just wasn’t their night.

At one point in the third, quarter Isaac Okoro jumped for a rebound and couldn’t bring it down. The ball bounced around and in the direction of Jarrett Allen, who usually scoops up rebounds and loose change like a Hoover vacuum cleaner.

But Allen couldn’t corral the basketball and it bounced out to Fred VanVleet on the wing for a wide-open three.

He canned it, putting the Raptors up 26 points. Bickerstaff immediately responded by lifting his starters and favor of a lineup full of reserves that included Raul Neto, Caris LeVert, Cedi Osman, Robin Lopez, and Kevin Love.

More on this later, but it did energize the crowd and the Cavaliers who authored an 11-0 run, but the spark was short lived and fizzled as quickly as it ignited.

The Cavs got as close as nine points in the fourth quarter but were never in any real danger of winning.

Darius Garland led the Cavaliers in scoring with 17 points and 8 assists. Donovan Mitchell made just four shots from the field all night, and three of them were from beyond the arc to finish with 12 points.

Okoro showed more signs of life with 15 points while Cedi Osman and Kevin Love contributed 13 points apiece off the bench.

Five thoughts and observations from the Cavs 118-107 loss to the Raptors

Bickerstaff pulling his starters in the fourth quarter sent a clear message

That message was this: their performance was unacceptable

We’ve heard Garland and Mitchell talk at times this season about other players holding each other accountable for lapses on the floor. Whether it’s Lamar Stevens chirping at Donovan Mitchell or Garland telling Mitchell it’s time to strap up for Grayson Allen’s Euro step, there has been a clear standard that this group aspires to be held to.

Bickerstaff held up his end of the bargain on Friday night and expressed his displeasure by lifting all five starters at the same time. Down 26 points to a team that has already beaten you twice this season, he was clearly grasping for anything to get his group’s attention.

Even if it didn’t work in the short-term, it sends a message and sets a standard that everyone Raul Neto and Robin Lopez to Donovan Mitchell and Jarrett Alen, needs to hold up their end.

“They weren’t holding up their end of the bargain. There’s a responsibility that goes with being a starter,” Bickerstaff said. “Your responsibility is to set the tone to start the game and start the half. I don’t think our guys were doing that. I know we have guys on our bench, and we have depth that will go out and compete.”

The Raptors have the Cavaliers number

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why the Raptors have the Cavs number, but after three games the evidence is clear that there is a match-up advantage the Raptors have over the Cavs. Toronto is long, lanky and despite not having the physical size the Wine and Gold boast, seem to push the Cavs around at times.

Cleveland has one of the best backcourts in the NBA, a pair of seven-foot behemoths to clog up the paint and clean the offensive and defensive glass and is one of the best teams in terms of defensive rating (106.8) and allowing the fewest PPG in the NBA this season (104.5 PPG).

Wednesday night against Milwaukee, you could almost sense a different level of comfort and confidence in seeing the Bucks on their home floor that allowed the Cavs to flush the first two losses on the road and go play.

That didn’t happen against Toronto.

Life in the NBA can be cruel

The Cavs were riding high after an emphatic win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Eastern Conference’s top team, just two nights ago. Winners of five-straight and looking to rectify things against the other team that has beaten them twice earlier this season, the Cavs couldn’t replicate the same effort they put on the floor Wednesday night.

After winning eight-straight at the beginning of the season, the Cavs then went on a five-game skid. They have seemingly rebounded to not get too high or too low, but it appears the Cavs were feeling a little full of themselves after getting a win against “big brother” on Wednesday night.

Just have a look at this quote from Bickerstaff after the game: “The great thing about the NBA is as soon as you get comfortable, somebody kicks you in your face,” Bickerstaff said. “. Toronto is just the team to do it. If you are on your high horse, they’ll knock you down pretty quickly. I think they showed us that tonight.”

Perimeter defense was non-existent

The Raptors made a season-high 19 3-pointers, with O.G. Anunoby tying his career best with six on his way to scoring 25 points.

By the midway point of the third quarter, the Raptors had canned 16 triples which tied a season-high mark. Coming into Friday night, the Raptors had shot an NBA-low 32% on 3-pointers but made 12 of 21 in the first half and wound up shooting 51.4% beyond the arc on the night.

Most were wide-open looks.

“We weren’t playing any (perimeter defense). We just weren’t good defensively tonight,” Bickerstaff said. “You come out the gate and give up 40 points in the first quarter, it means you’re just not ready to play. This is rare occasion for our group, it’s not a standard.”

Donovan Mitchell had a rare off night

This is by no means any criticism of Donovan Mitchell; he’s been spectacular all season. His performance thus far has put him squarely in any MVP talk.

But the Raptors have done a terrific job of neutralizing him in their last two matchups.

Mitchell scored 31-points in the season-opening loss to Toronto at Scotiabank Arena but had just eight points on 3-of-11 shooting on November 28th and went just 4-of-12 from the field for 12 points Friday night.

This is purely observational and perhaps even coincidental, but it’s fair to wonder if Toronto made a concerted effort to shut Mitchell down and force someone else on the Cavs to beat them.

“I don’t think so, to be honest with you. In my mind I’m playing through most of his shots and he had open looks that he typically makes,” Bickerstaff said. “They’re a good defensive team, they’re physical, they’re rangy. I don’t want to take anything away from them. I think he got his shots; I just don’t think they went tonight.”

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