The Toronto Raptors got a good win, showing their legitimacy by winning on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-93 on Saturday night.
The Raptors are 11-2, their best 13-game start in team history.
Cavs Can't Keep it Up
By Quarter Tonight vs Raptors
Teams that start 11-2 are almost always legit. Three did last season -- the Spurs, Trail Blazers and Pacers. One did in 2012-13 -- the Grizzlies. Those four teams averaged 57 wins.
Over the previous four seasons, nine teams started 11-2 or better. They finished with a combined record of 489-217, which equates to 57 wins over an 82-game season.
Since trading Rudy Gay Dec. 9, the Raptors are 52-24, 4 ½ games better than the next-best team in the Eastern Conference (the Bulls) during that span.
The Raptors won this one by dominating the Cavaliers in the middle two quarters, outscoring them 64-37.
Difference-Maker: Lou Williams
Lou Williams finished with a career-high 36 points for the Raptors. In the 29 minutes and 26 seconds in which Williams was on the floor, the Raptors outscored the Cavaliers by 37 points.
Williams went 15-for-15 from the free throw line on a night in which the Raptors shot 38-of-42 (90.5 percent) from the stripe. That’s the best they’ve shot in a game with at least 40 free-throw attempts in franchise history.
Why are the Raptors winning?
The Raptors have been successful in three areas this season. They have the league's second-most efficient offense (110.4 points per 100 possessions, the second-fewest turnovers per game (11.2) and have forced the third-most turnovers per game (17.5).
Their +6.3 turnover differential per game is second-best in the NBA, trailing only the Mavericks (+6.4).
Cavaliers floundering
The Cavaliers are 5-7, the worst 12-game start for a LeBron James team since his rookie season (2003-2004) when the Cavaliers started 4-8.
James finished with 15 points. The Cavaliers are 0-4 when James scores fewer than 20 points. This is the first time he’s scored fewer than 20 four times within the first 12 games since his rookie season.
Cavaliers Last 8 Games
The Cavaliers had a season-high 20 turnovers. They’ve had at least 18 turnovers in each of their last three games after having 18 or more once in their first nine games.
The Cavaliers played the Raptors even when James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving were on the floor together. They were outscored 52-35 when at least one of them was on the bench.
The Cavaliers have been very inconsistent. They went from having the best offensive efficiency and the second-lowest turnover percentage during their four-game win streak to having the second-worst offensive efficiency and the thirrd-highest turnover percentage over their last four games.