Friday nights contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Toronto wont be just another game on the 82-game schedule for the Toronto Raptors.Toronto (1-0) had its season cut short last spring by the Cavaliers, who defeated the Raptors in six games of the Eastern Conference finals to advance to the NBA Finals.Toronto fell behind 2-0, losing both games in Cleveland last May, but rebounded to tie the series 2-2 with a pair of wins at Air Canada Centre. The Cavs went on to win Games 5 and 6 to advance to the Finals.Its never just another game, said Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan. Every game we have, we look at it as a new opportunity to gain something. Come Friday, its another opportunity against the team we played against in the Eastern Conference finals.DeRozan led the way with a game-high 40 points and four rebounds in the Raptors season-opening 109-91 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.Toronto won the regular-season series against Cleveland last year, taking three of four meetings.Its going to be a battle, DeRozan said. Its a challenge were looking forward to: playing against the champs, playing against the team we took to six games in the Eastern Conference finals, its going to be great. Its going to be great in here. Its another challenge for us.Jonas Valanciunas added 32 points and 11 rebounds as he and DeRozan became the first teammates in NBA history with a 40-point game and a 30-point game in a season opener.Its a good opportunity for us to go against the best team, I think in my mind, in the league, said Raptors coach Dwane Casey. Theyve got every weapon that you could look for, the best player in the world, one of the best rosters put together in the world so its a good test for us.Id rather have it now, early in the season, lets us know where we are.Cavs guards Iman Shumpert and Kay Felder, who both underwent concussion protocol, are expected to be available for Fridays game against the Raptors.Cleveland (1-0) opened the season with a 117-88 thumping of the New York Knicks on Tuesday night -- the same evening they received their 2016 NBA championship rings and raised the banner to the rafters of Quicken Loans Arena.Kyrie Irving led the way with 29 points and four assists in the win, while LeBron James chipped in 19 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds for his 43rd career triple-double.Its the second game of the season, we know we played these guys in the Eastern Conference finals. They have a good team; they beat us twice and coach Caseys a great coach so we know were going to have our hands full (on Friday), Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said. We expect that. They have a great crowd, great atmosphere, but well be prepared for it.The Cavs return home following Friday nights contest for a three-game home stand beginning with the Orlando Magic on Saturday. Toronto, meanwhile, concludes its three-game home stand on Monday when it plays host to the Denver Nuggets. NBA Jerseys Outlet . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. NBA Jerseys China . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. http://www.cheapjerseysnba.com/ .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. Cheap Authentic NBA Jerseys . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. Cheap NBA Jerseys China . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. CHICAGO -- Cubs infielder Tommy La Stella has refused to report to Triple-A Iowa after being optioned to the minors nearly two weeks ago, and Chicago placed him on the temporary inactive list Tuesday.La Stella started at third base for the Cubs in last years wild-card victory over Pittsburgh. He was optioned to the minors on July 29 when Chicago activated outfielder Chris Coghlan off the disabled list.The left-handed hitting La Stella is batting .295 with a .388 on-base percentage in 105 at-bats with the Cubs and didnt take the demotion well.Hes a 27-year-old kid working through some stuff and were trying to give him time to work through those things, Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said. Weve had a lot of contact with him and well continue to do that.Manager Joe Maddon said hes communicated by text message with La Stella, who was back home in New Jersey working out.Hes not angry. Hes not upset, Maddon said. Hes just at that point where he doesnt know exactly what he wants to do. Thats it.La Stella will continue to get paid while hes on the inactive list.Depth has been a good problem for the major league-leading Cubs thhis season.dddddddddddd La Stella was vulnerable to being sent down despite his impressive numbers because he still has minor league options.This guy can flat out hit, Hoyer said.Some Cubs players declined comment about La Stella, saying they didnt know enough about the situation. Others defended him.I dont know if anybody would say they saw that coming by any means, outfielder Jason Heyward said. But at the same time, somebody has got to be at peace with what theyre doing.Outfielder Matt Szczur said he was sure La Stella will eventually report to Iowa.Im really close to Tommy and weve been talking back and forth, Szczur said. Hes trying to get in a good place. I can only support him.Hoyer said La Stellas absence will make the Cubs look for left-handed hitting elsewhere. He said when La Stella returns, it wont be with the Cubs.Theres no doubt hes going to have to get at-bats and play in Triple-A before he can help the major league team, Hoyer said. Hes going to get at-bats in Iowa, for sure. ' ' '
