You can only beat the teams in front of you — and the Toronto Raptors have done exactly that en route to a seven-game winning streak.
Now, they’ll face a stiff test in the Cleveland Cavaliers as they look to make it eight.
The second-place Raptors (12-5) will host the third-place Cavaliers (12-6) Monday with tip-off set for 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet+.
While Toronto’s winning streak already includes a win over the Cavaliers, only one other victory came against a team with a record currently over .500 in the 9-7 Philadelphia 76ers.
And as Cleveland, which has already dropped two games to Toronto to lose the season series, returns to health — star guard Darius Garland will play after missing the last matchup — the Raptors are facing some injury trouble themselves.
RJ Barrett won’t play after he exited Sunday’s 119-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets with a right knee sprain.
The absence of Barrett, who is recording 19.4 points, 4.8 rebound and 3.8 assists per game while shooting a career-high 50.6 per cent from the floor, could loom large.
However, the Raptors are expecting centre Jakob Poeltl to return to the lineup after he sat out the first half of the back-to-back to manage a back injury.
In Poeltl’s place, free-agent signing Sandro Mamukelashvili continued his strong start with the Raptors, tallying 12 points, four rebounds and two assists in the win.
Mamukelashvili could be a candidate to join the starting lineup once again in place of Barrett. Sophomore Ja’Kobe Walter, who came off the bench for a season-high 16 points after Barrett left Sunday’s game, could also draw in.
Their contributions in the win over the Nets was emblematic of the Raptors’ egalitarian makeup this season in which five players average double-digit scoring, but only one is above 20 points per game (Brandon Ingram, 20.7).
The Raptors will get the chance to show off that newfound identity to a U.S. audience Monday with the tilt against the Cavaliers set to be broadcast nationally on Peacock.
On the other side, the Cavaliers are led by star guard Donovan Mitchell, who is averaging 30.8 points per game and torched the Raptors for 31 points, six rebounds and six assists in their last game.
The game will also see Raptors star Scottie Barnes, the fourth-overall pick in the 2021 draft, taking on third-overall pick Evan Mobley.
Both former all-stars are off to strong starts this season with Barnes doing it all for the Raptors while putting up 19.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and five assists per game and Mobley answering with averages of 18.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists.
