Cavaliers at Raptors
A matchup between the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers over the last few seasons would have served as a playoff preview, but things are changing in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers will begin life without LeBron James - again - when they visit the Raptors on Wednesday.
Cleveland advanced to the NBA Finals in each of the last four seasons - winning one title - with James leading the way but he decided to move onto the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency over the summer, leaving the team with a giant hole to fill. The Cavaliers are hoping Kevin Love can step back up to superstar level and mold younger players like Rodney Hood, Larry Nance Jr. and rookie point guard Collin Sexton into a playoff team. The Raptors lost to the Cavaliers in the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, leading to the departure of coach Dwane Casey and a roster shakeup that sent All-Star DeMar DeRozan to San Antonio and brought back former MVP candidate Kawhi Leonard. "Chemistry kind of builds all season," Toronto coach Nick Nurse, who was an assistant with the Raptors the five previous seasons before being promoted, told reporters. "It's not like we say, 'OK, it's Game One and now we've got our chemistry.' I think it shifts and moves all season long."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, FS Ohio (Cleveland), Sportsnet (Toronto)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (2017-18: 50-32): Love averaged 17.6 points on 45.8 percent shooting as James' second fiddle last season but will be looking to become the player that averaged 26.1 points and 12.5 rebounds in his final season in Minnesota in 2013-14. "I'm excited to see how far that this team can go," Love told reporters. "I've been the No. 1 guy previously for four-to-six years you could say, in my time in Minnesota. I've been a guy that's sacrificed a lot, learned a lot in every year, so I'm excited to put that all together. I'm looking forward to, even if it's not on the floor too, as we talked about, putting my arm around the young guys, keeping that culture going with our entire team and organization and just try to keep building this team up." Love still has veteran support in the form of point guard George Hill, 32, who averaged just 9.4 points and 2.8 assists in 24 games after arriving in Cleveland last season.
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (2017-18: 59-23): Leonard was second only to James in the "best overall player in the NBA" debate after winning Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2015 and 2016 and averaging 25.5 points during the 2016-17 campaign, but a quad injury that limited him to nine games last season eroded the trust between Leonard and the San Antonio front office. The result was a trade to Toronto, where Leonard will pair with All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry in an effort to keep a Raptors team that finished with the best record in the East last season on top. "We're not going to be clicking on all cylinders right away," Lowry told reporters. "There's a lot of work we need to do, but we'll be fine. It's a long process. Everything is going to take time - new players, a new offense, new defense, new head coach. Everything is going to take patience and time."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Raptors added veteran C Greg Monroe, who averaged 10.3 points and 6.9 rebounds last season, to an already-potent bench.
2. The Cavaliers signed Nance to a four-year, $44.8 million extension on Monday.
3. Toronto G Delon Wright (thigh) is questionable for the opener.