The Toronto Raptors (1-2) will face reigning champions Cleveland Cavaliers (2-1) at the Quicken Loans Arena on Oct. 13, Thursday as the 2016-2017 NBA Preseason Games continue.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 8:00 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru the NBA League Pass.
Preview
After beating the highly-touted Golden State Warriors at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver to open the preseason, the Raptors have now lost two straight with their most recent game ending in a close 104-98 defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center on Oct. 5.
Main man Kyle Lowry was rested by head coach Dwane Casey during the match while the four other starters, namely DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas, DeMarre Carroll, and Patrick Patterson, all suited up with their usual roles.
Co-captain DeRozan was the star of the match for Toronto as the two-time NBA All-Star scored 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting in only 18 minutes.
Two players were impressive off the bench and they were point guard Corey Joseph and shooting guard Brady Heslip as they scored 13 points each in 18 and nine minutes of playing time respectively.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are coming off their first loss this preseason as they dropped a 99-93 game to a new-look Atlanta Hawks at the Philips Arena on Monday.
Starters LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and Iman Shumpert were all rested by head coach Tyronn Lue as they faced a Dwight Howard-led Hawks squad.
Howard expectedly dominated a Cavaliers team composed of second unit players as the other Atlanta starters have also suited up for the benefit of their home fans.
As for the Cavs, rookie point guard Kay Felder continued to impress as he contributed 15 points, three rebounds, and six assists in 33 minutes of action. Backing him up are power forward Cory Jefferson and wingmen James Jones and Jordan McRae, who fired 13, 12, and 12 points respectively.
Off the bench, power forward Jonathan Holmes and shooting guard Markel Brown scored 15 and 10 points in 17 and 22 minutes of playing time.
Prediction
The Cavs are expected to put on a good show at their home stadium, which could be the reason why Lue rested his starters for this game. If James and company show up then it should be an easy win for Cleveland.
