Cleveland Cavaliers: 3 reasons not to be upset over loss to Toronto Raptors

1. Persistent effort

This is something the Cleveland Cavaliers were severely lacking in recent years. For quite some time, the effort on both ends of the floor had been questionable, to say the least. If this game is any indication of what is to come, this problem may be solved.

This game contained many offensive cold stretches for the Cavaliers. During these runs, the Raptors capitalized big time as they built up a large lead. Instead of giving up and looking defeated, the Cavs fought back hard.

In previous years, the team could have easily thrown in the towel and quit. This may have been in part due to James, who was prone to lackadaisical effort — particularly on defense — in regular season games. It’s tough to play hard when your leader looks uninterested.

With James gone, this is one problem that has not shown itself yet. The Cavaliers maintained the same level of hustle on both ends of the floor throughout the entire game. Even when the Raptors appeared to have locked up the win, Cleveland continued to fight.