Cavs without 4 players to open season against Raptors
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A new season means new opportunities for the Cleveland Cavaliers under new head coach Kenny Atkinson. Cleveland kicks off their 2024-25 campaign with a season opener on the road against the Toronto Raptors. This will be the first of three matchups between the Cavs and Raptors. Both sides meet again in Cleveland in November and January. Toronto won the season series last year, 1-2. Meanwhile, the Cavs are looking to start a winning streak against the Raptors; it should be fun to kick off this season’s three-game series between both teams.
While Cleveland star guard Darius Garland hopes to make this matchup an eye for an eye, both sides will be without key players to start the season. Toronto will be without R.J. Barrett (shoulder), Bruce Brown (knee), Kelly Olynyk (back), and Ja’Kobe Walter (shoulder). While Cavs fans have to wait to express their hatred for Kelly Olynyk, not having Barrett, Brown, or Walter is a massive loss for the Raptors.
Barrett sustained a sprain to the right acromioclavicular joint late in the second quarter of the team’s preseason game against the Washington Wizards without a firm timetable to return to action. Toronto native played 32 games for the Raptors, averaging 21.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting 55.3 percent from the floor and 39.3 percent from the three-point range. Brown, meanwhile, missed training camp and Toronto’s preseason after undergoing an arthroscopic surgical procedure on his right knee. Brown is still working his way back to the court, but last season with Toronto, he averaged 9.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 48.1 percent from the floor. Finally, Walter has not been able to get into any preseason action for the Raptors, and it sounds unlikely he'll be fully ready to go.
Who is missing for the Cavs against the Raptors?’
Cleveland, meanwhile, will have more firepower to take on Toronto to open the year. Against the Raptors, the Cavs will be without Emoni Bates (knee, G League assignment), Max Strus (ankle), Luke Travers (G League assignment), and J.T. Thor (G League assignment). Not having Bates, Thor, or Travers while on assignment with the Cleveland Charge, the NBA G League affiliate of the Cavs, isn’t surprising. All three need valuable on-court reps to continue their development, while Bates will stay in Cleveland to continue rehabbing after preseason knee surgery.
Cleveland’s significant loss against Toronto is Strus. The Cavs sharpshooter sprained his right ankle during individual workouts while recovering from a bruised hip. To confirm the severity of the sprain, Strus underwent an X-ray and an MRI, and the plan is for Strus to be reevaluated after six weeks of treatment and rehabilitation. That timeline suggests he'll remain sidelined for at least Cleveland’s first 20 regular season contests. Strus had missed some time this preseason but appeared to be on the verge of returning for the opener against Toronto. So the ankle sprain is a disappointing setback for him and the Cavs, who had the 28-year-old in their starting lineup for 70 regular season games and 12 playoff contests last season.
Strus was a solid contributor in his first year in Cleveland after signing a four-year, $62 million contract in free agency. He averaged 12.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists per game. Moreover, Strus connected on 35.1% of his perimeter attempts. Regardless, not having Strus to kickstart Atkinson’s pace and space offense is a setback. While Strus is out, Dean Wade or Caris LeVert could take his place in the starting lineup. Cleveland will also lean heavily on Georges Niang and Sam Merrill to compensate for Strus’s three-point shooting.
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