Over the course of the past few seasons, the Cleveland Cavaliers probably shouldn't have been as dominant as they were against the Toronto Raptors.
Anytime the two Eastern Conference contenders would meet up, they were often even statistically and in last year's case, the Raptors were a whole nine games better than the Cavs through the regular season. Nevertheless, Cleveland has possessed an astonishing 15-2 record against Toronto dating back to Game 5 of the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals -- including two sweeps in each of the past two postseasons.
The difference hasn't been difficult to decipher.
While the Raptors may have seemed comparable to -- or in some cases, better than -- the Cavs on paper, Cleveland always possessed a significant talent advantage in its head-to-head matchups with Toronto. In particular, LeBron James was always the best player on the court anytime the Cavs faced the Raptors over the course of the past four years -- and it often wasn't close.
But with James having taken his talents to Los Angeles and Kyrie Irving a year removed from having forced his way to Boston, Kevin Love is the lone pillar remaining of Cleveland's Big 3. And if the Cavs' season opener at Toronto on Wednesday night was any indication, the advantage they used to hold over their neighbors to the north hasn't just evaporated -- it's flipped the other way.
"We're not a team that has the luxury of being able to just rely on our talent," Love said following Cleveland's 116-104 season-opening defeat. "We have to pay attention to detail and we have to continue to have that goal and mindset throughout our entire lineup."
And even then, that might not be enough on some -- most? -- nights for the Cavs.
All things considered, Cleveland played fairly well on Wednesday -- at least in most facets other than shooting the ball. Facing an upgraded version of the Raptors that now includes Kawhi Leonard, the Cavs connected on just 34 of their 85 field goal attempts -- and 7 of their 19 3-pointers -- with Love shooting a meager 5-for-18 from the field.
Cleveland's shooting woes manifested themselves in the form of a 20-point deficit -- although to the Cavs' credit, they did trim the Raptors' lead to just seven points with three minutes remaining in the game.
But as was often the case in the previous matchups between the two teams, the talent discrepancy eventually won out. Only this time, it was Cleveland that was on the losing end.
"They're a different team than in years past," Love said of Toronto. "They're a team that's going to continue to grow with some of their new personnel."
The same could be said of the Cavs, even if that personnel is no longer championship quality.
Despite the lopsided loss, there were plenty of encouraging signs for Cleveland on Wednesday, including the play of second-year forward Cedi Osman, who scored 17 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 4 assists. Factor in what should be better showings by Love moving forward, the potential for improved play from rookie point guard Collin Sexton and the return of forward/center Larry Nance Jr. and the Cavs' outlook for this season may not be as dire as the final score on Wednesday night would suggest.
This much, however, is clear when it comes to the 2018-19 campaign: Cleveland's margin for error has shrunk. And that's not something the Cavs will be able to overcome based on talent alone any longer.