Cavs vs. Raptors preview and gamethread
This is the start of the Kenny Atkinson era and potentially Evan Mobley’s breakout season.
The Cavs promising 2024-25 season gets started north of the border on Wednesday evening.
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors
Where: Scotiabank Arena - Toronto, ON
When: 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 23
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio (previously Bally Sports), NBA League Pass
Line: Cavs -6.5
Expected Cavs starting lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Cavs injury report: Max Strus - OUT (ankle), Emoni Bates - OUT (knee), JT Thor - OUT (two-way), Luke Travers - OUT (two-way)
Expected Raptors starting lineup: Immanuel Quickley, Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl
Raptors injury report: R.J. Barrett - OUT (shoulder), Bruce Brown - OUT (knee), Kelly Olynyk - OUT (back), Ja’Kobe Walter - OUT (shoulder)
Fear the Sword will be hosting a stream for select games this year on Playback. Join me and Corey Walsh for the action as we react in real-time to what is happening in the game.
What to watch for
Kenny Atkinson’s debut
The Cavs didn’t add anyone new to the roster except for Jaylon Tyson. The big change they did make was with their head coach. This will be our first chance to see how Atkinson’s style translates to games that matter.
Atkinson has spent training camp and preseason talking about how he wants to see this team play quicker, shoot more threes, and crash the offensive glass. But he wants them to maintain their defensive identity through all of the changes on the offensive end.
Figuring out how to play within Atkinson’s system will take time. That said, this game will give us our first glimpse at how things could be different this season.
The size mismatch
The Raptors have long-valued switchable wings over smaller guards and traditional bigs. This has given the Cavs, who are the opposite, problems over the years. Unfortunately, for Toronto, two of their switchable wings and their backup center will be out for this matchup. This will leave an already undersized team incredibly thin up front.
The Cavs should be starting Wade in place of Strus. But even if they don’t, Mobley and Allen will have a size advantage in the paint. Cleveland’s front line should be able to press their advantage here.
The potential start of Evan Mobley’s breakout season
Mobley was dominant the last time we saw him play in games that counted. He was exceptional in the second-round series against the Boston Celtics where he averaged 21.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on 62.7% shooting.
That development has carried over into the preseason. Mobley has been more assertive on-ball, displayed his skills as a good passer, and has continued to work on his three-point shot. Now, we’ll see if he can carry that over into meaningful games when he’s sharing the floor with Allen.
Mobley’s offensive development will determine whether this team is a title contender or just a good regular-season team that is happy to just advance out of the first round of the playoffs.