Raptors at Cavaliers, game-day Dino-bytes

Our post-shootaround update for tonight’s Raptors-Cavaliers game.

 

TORONTO (23-34) at CLEVELAND (19-38)

Quicken Loans Arena

TIPOFF 7 p.m.

TV: Sportsnet; RADIO: FAN590

WEB: Oh, yes, we will be here for the hilarity and insight of the in-game blog just before 7 p.m.

 

Probable starters

Toronto: Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Amir Johnson, Jonas Valanciunas; Cleveland: Shaun Livingston, Dion Waiters, Alonzo Gee, Tristan Thompson, Tyler Zeller.

 

Key backups tonight

Toronto: Alan Anderson (hot one night, cool the next; need him hot), John Lucas (back PG is shooting the lights out); Cleveland: Luke Walton (savvy vet calms things downs), Marreese Speights (tough big man has been playing well)

 

Season series

Tied, 1-1

Each team has won on the road, the Raptors easily in Cleveland and the Cavs got a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Kyrie Irving to win at the Air Canada Centre. One more game left in the season series after this one.

All time, Toronto is 14-19 in Cleveland.

-

What happened this morning?

Getting the message

To suggest that Dwane Casey was miffed about his team’s focus on Monday is a vast understatement and he hammered that point home Tuesday at practice and this morning at shootaround.

“The only thing we can do is talk about it, you can’t hit them in the head with a baseball bat,” he said, wishing probably that he could hit them over the head with a baseball bat. “If Monday night wasn’t enough of a reminder of what happens when you don’t approach the game (correctly) I don’t know what will.”

So it remains to be seen how they come out tonight.

“A lot of our guys understand what’s at stake, we’ve been knocked down we’ve been 4-19 and we fought back by being hungry and there’s no reason we should come in and say, ‘ok, let’s coast two quarters and play for two,’” he said. “I don’t expect that, I expect our guys to bounce back.”

--

The Kyrie tale

No official word on Kyrie Irving, who sat out Tuesday’s Cleveland win in Chicago and is listed as day-to-day, as if we all weren’t anyway.

My friend Mary has this in the Plain Dealer this morning that makes it sound like he probably won’t go.

-

A number from the other team

After putting up 26 on Heat & 25 on Bulls, Cleveland rookie Dion Waiters is averaging 15 points per game on 52 per cent shooting from the field this month.

-

Whistle-tooters

Tonight’s men in charge are JT Orr, Leroy Richardson and

Tony Brothers. No clue if they’ll be any good or not, I’m presuming they’ll have their moments.

-

No change

No one has the flu, or flu-like symptoms so it’s going to be the same lineup for Toronto as it was on Monday, meaning Mickael Pietrus and Linas Kleiza should be on the inactive list with Sebastian Telfair in uniform.

-

One last number

17.5.

That’s the number of points both Alan Anderson and Amir Johnson are averaging against the Cavaliers this season.

-

 

 

 

Comments

[DD]

Doug, you think if Kyrie doesn't go, in a strange way, it makes the game more difficult for the Raptors since their plans change and their focus may wane?

Blogger's note: Different, maybe; just as difficult

[511]

Doug - in regards (sort of) to Dwane Casey's task of having his team properly readied and motivated … earlier today, I watched this after-game (I'm guessing) press conference with Doug Collins and I found it fascinating. It's ten or so minutes long and at the beginning of it he mentions a coach who spoke at his clinic who would say to new recruits, "There are three things you have to bring in my program: energy, effort and execution … and I'm in charge of one of them."

He speaks frankly and thoughtfully during the rest of the Q & A session about his team and his own thinking and approach to his job. What's interesting to me is that for a while now, I've thought of Doug Collins as one who I'd be glad to have coach 'my' team as he obviously knows the game inside and out and seems like a guy who would communicate well with his players … plus I liked the way the Sixers looked last year … for a while there, anyway.

But it got me to wondering … What's the difference between a guy like Doug Collins and a coach like (say) Gregg Popovich? A rhetorical question as there isn't likely an easy answer to it. But is it as much or more the personality of the players that are selected and groomed by the team (or the combination of) ? … or is it more the coach having just that right balance of professionalism and sense of authority about what's expected (thinking of Popovich there)?

Again, not looking for answers as such, but … as I'm having fun ruminating on this today, I thought I'd share. Cheers.

http://www.nba.com/sixers/video/2013/02/26/130226CollinsPostgamemov-2398250