Well, that was a nice win. Not without its ups and downs, but it’s always nice to win your first game, at home, against a good team.

Of course, I thought the Raptors were gonna blow it in the second half and the refs sure didn’t help, but they toughed it out. A 21-point lead evaporated midway through the third quarter, but after settling for jumper after jumper the Raps finally settled down, rebuilt a 7-point lead by the end of third and built on it in the fourth. The Cavs kept it close down the stretch before Jose Calderon sealed it on his only bucket of the night, and and-1 layup with less than a minute to go.

Biggest thing to note on the box score is the Cavs’ 35% shooting. I don’t want to say the defense was great, since the Cavs were on the second night of a back-to-back (and hey, they let the Cavs score 32 in the third), but it was definitely a better effort than they gave at any time last year. Other than a raft of open threes in the third and the occasional slow rotation, the defense was generally where it needed to be.

Offensively, during the second quarter the draw-and-kick was working really well, and the pick-and-roll worked well, and the high-low with Bosh and Bargnani worked well. But way too much settling for Js in the second half – in the third, I don’t think they pick-and-rolled once! Still. It appears there are plenty of scorers on this team, and I liked the way Jay mixed in the starters and subs ensuring there was always some firepower on the floor.

And while the rebounds were ultimately pretty even (Cavs won the battle 49-48) the 13 offensive boards the Cavs pulled down are disappointingly familiar. I know it’s expected that a team that misses 65% of their shots has more opportunities to get offensive boards, but nevertheless, there were a few that the Cavs simply outworked the Raps on.

I have to say, I hate watching the Cavs. Honestly, there is nothing at all enjoyable about watching LeBron barrel to the hoop and get foul calls as soon as he’s breathed on (that offensive foul call on Bosh was just unbelievable. I half-expected people to start throwing beers on the court – and frankly I would have encouraged it). But seriously, that’s their go-to offense? Didn’t they learn from the Orlando series that they need a few more options? I mean in the third they went small and started swinging the ball on the perimeter, and got back into the game… but then it was back to LeBron-on-five. Bo-ring.

Other thoughts…

Bargnani was amazing. I know we won’t see that every night, but he looked so smooth on everything he did. Some awful foul calls “limited” him too… but inside, outside, mid-range, solid D, 28 points on 15 shots in less than 30 minutes. Only five boards (and he got seriously outplayed on a couple that he should have had) but I think we’re just going to have to accept that that’s who he is.

Bosh was OK. Still with that awful habit of standing there thinking about it, then settling for fade-aways instead of using his quickness. When he catches it and goes, no big man outside of KG has the quickness to stay with him… still, the 16 boards were nice, and he, Bargnani and Rasho outscored/outrebounded Shaq, Z and Varejao 48/23 to 26/14.

Calderon: Actually got out and ran on the break! So used to seeing him take it slow, it was nice to see. Last year I got annoyed that he didn’t shoot/score enough, maybe this year he won’t have to. Though I couldn’t believe he missed two free throws!

Turk: Wanted him to have the ball a little more in the fourth, given his “clutchness,” but ultimately it didn’t matter. He didn’t have a great game, stats-wise, but overall I liked what I saw from him. He moves well, knows where he should be and where the ball should go. The “high basketball IQ” we heard about all summer is evident. And he managed to stay in front of LeBron when called upon.

DeRozan: Really liked what I saw from the rookie. LOVED that he blocked Shaq’s shot, and buried the jumper on LeBron… good confidence builders. Got lost on D a couple times, but that’s to be expected. Great start for the kid. Didn’t try to do too much, and performed when needed.

Bellinelli: Surprisingly effective! Wasn’t expecting that, to be honest. He’s like the anti-Kapono - he can actually handle the ball when he puts it on the floor, and he’s not afraid to jack it when he’s open.

Jack: Only real disappointment on the night. Missed way too many shots, and lost his man on D too many times. Then pulled the Anthony Parker “make one of two free throws when we really need both” routine at the end…

Wright: Didn’t particularly think that 3 he took in the fourth was a good shot, but hey. It went in. What’d he take, 3 charges? That’s about as many as the whole team took last year. Picked up 5 fouls but at least one of them was a bad call; he certainly gave 100 per cent on the defensive end. If he can develop the three as a weapon he should have a good future in the league.

Overall, nice to see a win against a quality opponent, nice to see them weather a run and hang on. Overall it’s just great to have basketball back again (well, other than the same old brutally bad officiating. Sigh. Some things never change…).

Tags: Andrea Bargnani, Chris Bosh, Cleveland Cavaliers, Hedo Turkoglu, Jose Calderon, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Toronto Raptors

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 9:13 am and is filed under Game Wrap-ups, General Raptors, Toronto Raptors.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.