Tristan Thompson is pumped for this game. He's reportedly asked for over 20 tickets for friends and family since he comes from the area. I'm trying to imagine what Tigger Thompson looks like when he's extra excited for a game...and my head just exploded. The guy already plays with so much enthusiasm, he might literally jump out of the building with the added excitement of playing in front of his hometown crowd.
Song Of The Day: Homecoming - Kanye West
This one is for Tigger. Put on a show for Toronto tonight.
Tonight's Overview:
Cleveland Cavaliers (3-2) at Toronto Raptors (2-3)
These two teams faced on in the season opener, in which the Cavaliers fell by a score of 104-96. Since then, the Cavs have won 3 of 4 games, with their only loss being in overtime to the Indiana Pacers. If not for a blown layup, the Cavs would be 4-1 right now. The Cavs seem to have figured out a lot of things since that last game against Toronto. One of those things being that Ryan Hollins is terrible. He got the minutes at backup center in the opener and quickly lost those minutes to Samardo Samuels. Samuels has played much better than Hollins, but there's one problem: Samardo didn't make the trip to Toronto with the Cavs. Apparently, Sam lost his passport and was unable to get all of the papers worked out, so he was left behind. I don't know how an NBA team lets something like that happen, but it did. So I guess we'll have to deal with Ryan Hollins again. Fortunately, Semih Erden should be ready to contribute some minutes off of the bench tonight. Honestly, anything is better than Hollins.
Kyrie Irving is coming off his best game of the season against the Bobcats. Jose Calderon is not a very good defensive point guard. However, the Raptors do protect the paint much better than Charlotte does. It will be interesting to see if Irving can bounce back from his 2-12 shooting performance last time out against TOR.
Byron Scott made it clear that Omri Casspi was not yet in danger of losing his starting job to Alonzo Gee. I might make the switch, but whatever. Casspi will get another chance to bounce back tonight.
Injury Report:
Cleveland: None
Toronto: Aaron Gray (something that won't let him play, I'm not really sure)
Key Matchup:
Tristan Thompson vs. The Free Throw Line
He was just 2 of 6 from the charity stripe against the Bobcats. He needs to be better than that. His activity on the glass and around the basket will undoubtedly lead to people fouling him a lot. If he can make people pay for fouling him, he will be that much more valuable to this team.
Fear The Sword's Fearless Prediction:
Kyrie Irving plays better than he did the first time around against Toronto, but not quite as well as he did against Charlotte. Tristan Thompson puts on a show for his friends and family, recording his first career double-double. The Cavaliers continue their winning ways, 103-99.