The Cleveland Cavaliers proved they are still a force to be reckoned with at home while beating the Boston Celtics 95-87 on Wednesday night. Now they need to prove they can play with the same effort on the road. The first road test will take place north of the border when the team travels to Toronto to face the Raptors tonight at 7:00PM.
Toronto, like the Cavaliers, is trying to move on after losing their best player to the Miami Heat in the offseason. Chris Bosh took his talents to South Beach as well, and the Raptors are undertaking a rebuilding effort similar to Cleveland's. The Raptors also traded a huge free-agent mistake when they sent Hedo Turkoglu to the Phoenix Suns.
Toronto opened the season with a 98-93 home loss to the New York Knicks. Raptors C Andrea Bargnani lead the team with 22 points, though he scored just 4 points in the 2nd half. Jarrett Jack added 16 points and 6 assists in a losing effort.
Ironically, the Cavaliers come to town with 3 former members of the Raptors. Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon are starters for the Cavaliers while Joey Graham is a bench player.