The Cavaliers came away with a 94-91 victory on Friday night in Toronto, playing a rematch of the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals, in which not all of the faces were the same as five months ago.
The Raptors gave the Cavs a tough challenge in front of their home crowd, but LeBron James and company held on to improve to 2-0.
LeBron scored 21 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and dished out seven assists.
For the second time in two games to start the season, Kyrie Irving led the team in scoring with 26 points.
None of his shots were bigger than this one:
Kyrie Irving hits the ice-cold trey to put the Cavs up 3! https://t.co/Kt2TD9Uxw3
— Cavaliers Nation (@WeAreCavsNation) October 29, 2016
Kevin Love posted his second double-double, finishing with 18 points and ten rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 32 points in the loss.
Role Player of the Game
After exiting in the third quarter of Tuesday night’s season opener, it was unclear if Iman Shumpert would be ready in time to play on Friday.
Not only was he cleared to play, but the shooting guard and newly named backup point guard is our RPOG for Oct. 28.
Shumpert played 20 minutes, contributing six points, four rebounds, and perhaps most importantly three steals.
Rookie point guard Kay Felder did not play, but had the game been less of a nail-biter he may have made his NBA debut.
There’s a good chance Felder will play on Saturday night at home against the Magic, but if Shumpert has more nights like this, he could earn even more playing time at point guard.
Head coach Tyronn Lue values guard DeAndre Liggins for his defense and believes Felder has some work to do to develop into an NBA defender (something natural for any second-round draft picks), but there’s nothing like having players to rely upon from past experience.
if Shumpert can be a serviceable point guard on offense and continue to display his solid, trustworthy defense, the spot may not be in as much trouble as previously envisioned.
In some NBA cities, the backup point guard to a superstar would not be as essential of a role.
For instance, Damian Lillard could play 38 minutes or more routinely.
But as the Cavs hope to limit Irving’s minutes, whoever grabs hold of that job will be a vital piece of the puzzle down the stretch.
This won’t be the last time Shumpert is our RPOG, but it’s a promising start to his new role.
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