3. Toronto is the Hotter Team
It’s true the Cavs blew out Toronto 122-100 in Cleveland on January 5th. But what happened after that tells you a lot about where these two teams are at coming into Friday’s game.
After Toronto lost to Cleveland, they went on an 11-game win-streak, winning 14 of 15 games.
The Raptors are 17-3 in the 20 games since that loss to Cleveland.
The Cavs have gone 12-6 since that game.
12-6 is not bad, but for a team that started out 9-1 without two key players, it’s fair to say the Cavs have not been playing their best basketball, as of late.
This is around the time of the season when teams are supposed to “turn it up a notch.”
Toronto has been playing their best basketball of the season for the last two months. The Cavs have had their ups and downs, mostly ups, but these two teams are trending in opposite directions.
If the Cavs can cool off Toronto, it would temporarily stop that trend. If the Cavs get their second win against a top-five team on the road in just one week, it would certainly disprove the notion that because they lost to Golden State and San Antonio on the road, they aren’t capable of winning big games away from home.
It’s understandable that the regular season is a whole different animal from the playoffs, but if someone puts zero stock in the regular season, then what’s the point of watching in the first place? Just turn off the TV until June if there’s absolutely nothing that can be taken away from regular season and early playoff matchups.
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