The Cleveland Cavaliers left Miami with a greater sense of pride as their reserves stunned the Miami Heat and their fans. They now turn to face Toronto in Cleveland the next night.
Who: Toronto Raptors (6-5) at Cleveland Cavaliers (8-4)
Where: Rocket Arena — Cleveland, OH
When: Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7:00pm EST
TV: NBA TV, FanDuel Sports Network Ohio, FanDuel Sports Network App, NBA League Pass
Point spread
: Cavs -7.5Cavs Injury Report: Darius Garland – OUT (toe), Lonzo Ball – OUT (injury management),
Jaylon Tyson – OUT (concussion), Max Strus – OUT (foot), Chris Livingston – OUT (G League)
Raptors Injury Report: Ochai Agbaji – OUT (lower back), Chucky Hepburn – OUT (G League), A.J. Lawson – OUT (G League), Alijah Martin – OUT (G League), Jonathan Mogbo – OUT (G League), Collin Murray-Boyles – QUESTIONABLE (illness), Sandro Mamaukelashvili – QUESTIONABLE (neck)
What to watch for
Who is suiting up for the Cavaliers?
The Cavaliers currently lead the league in unique starting lineups to start the young season. That is not really a great sign, as these decisions are made out of necessity instead of creativity. If this is the Cavaliers’ way of getting injuries over with before the critical stretch of the season, then hey, I’m all for it.
Tonight, against the Raptors, there could be a variety of outcomes for who plays. It’s not like you can use the NBA Cup game between the two on Halloween as an example. Donovan Mitchell, the Cavaliers’ most reliable scorer, missed their previous matchup due to a hamstring issue. Now, coming off rest in South Beach, Mitchell seems like someone who could swing the whole outcome of the game by himself.
The Cavaliers cannot rest their stars again (Mobley and Evan Mitchell) and expect the same outcome as they saw last night. Their reserves played out of their mind, and that will likely not be the case again tonight. Toronto always is a rock fight of a game, and coming off the second night of a back-to-back means that the fresh legs will go a long way for the Cavaliers.
