Cedi Osman tried to rein in Kawhi Leonard, with varying success, in Wednesday's loss. (Vaughn Ridley, Getty Images)

TORONTO -- In a season of wins and lessons, the Cleveland Cavaliers got plenty of the latter during a 116-104 season-opening loss against the Toronto Raptors.

After the game, Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue called it a "decent start," but also admitted there is plenty to fix before Game 2 Friday night in Minnesota.

Here are five observations from the opener.

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Cedi Osman passes first test

New starting small forward Cedi Osman smiled when approached pregame by cleveland.com about his upcoming matchup with Kawhi Leonard and then another with Jimmy Butler on Friday night.

Lue has placed Osman in the “defensive stopper role,” asking the second-year ball of energy to battle the opponent’s best perimeter scorer.

On Wednesday night, that meant Leonard -- an MVP candidate and one of Osman's summer workout partners.

“It’s a big challenge,” Osman said before the game. “I was doing that last year so nothing new with that. I always like taking those challenges. It's fun trying to stop him.”

Osman knew Leonard was going to score. “Kawhi is one of the best small forwards in the world,” he said. That's why the primary goal was to make Leonard take bad shots from outside the paint. If he was going to score 20 points or more, Osman’s goal was to make it a hard 20, an inefficient scoring night.

“If they make tough shots, you live with it,” Osman said.

Mission accomplished.

Leonard was good in his Raptors debut. He scored 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Rowdy Toronto fans cheered each time he touched the ball in the opening minutes. But he was just 9-of-22 from the field and had as many turnovers (two) as assists.

When Leonard tried to get past Osman, the youngster moved his feet well and stayed in front. When the burly Raptor tried backing down Osman in the post, Osman held his ground.

“I thought Cedi was great tonight,” Kevin Love said. “He was our, I don't want to say silver lining, but he was our star tonight."

Osman asked me after the game if I knew how many times Leonard scored against him. I admittedly didn't keep track but guessed two.

Technically, that was close -- although individual matchup numbers can be wonky in a box score.

Based on the video clips I watched back, there was one possession where Leonard veered from the baseline to the elbow, using a screen to create space before knocking down a jumper over Osman. Another time, with Toronto pushing the ball up the floor, Osman stepped in front of Pascal Siakam, leaving Leonard open in the left corner. Leonard buried the 3-pointer, with Osman not quick enough to recover.

Other than that, Leonard did most of his damage against other defenders.

He hit jumpers over Rodney Hood and Tristan Thompson following switches. Leonard thundered a dunk after a steal. Osman was the closest guy, but he was trying to stop two or three Toronto players on the break. Leonard had a put-back, getting inside position against Hood. He drove against George Hill and earned free throws.

The Cavs are a switch-heavy defense nowadays. That means Osman won't be matched up with elite wings on every possession. But when he is, the plan won't change, trying to force opponents into tough shots while not getting discouraged if they go in.

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Cedi Osman showed off his playmaking ability during the Cavaliers' loss. (Vaughn Ridley, Getty Images)

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Embracing bigger opportunity

Osman mentioned his goal of getting a few triple-doubles during training camp. While reaching that goal may seem unlikely, Osman was more likely alluding to the idea of becoming a triple threat.

On Wednesday night, Osman didn't get that first triple-double. He has 81 more chances. But he did stuff the stat sheet, tallying 17 points, the second-highest total of his career. He also pulled down a career-best 10 rebounds to go with four assists and two steals.

"He really looked good and rebounded the ball well," Love said. "Even on some of the plays where he might have got his shot blocked he was super aggressive and you can tell that he put in a lot of work this summer and he's going to be helping us. He's one of the guys that's going to help us grow."

When Osman got the board, he immediately shifted into attack mode, with half of his 10 shot attempts coming at the rim. When he had open looks from the perimeter, Osman didn’t hesitate, showing confidence in his still-developing jumper.

"Really happy with Cedi," Lue said. "I thought Cedi played with a great pace all night. I thought he rebounded the ball well. He pushed it. He made plays. Very pleased with Cedi."

Part of Lue’s approach this training camp -- and it’s expected to continue throughout the season -- has been giving freedom to his guys.

Osman views himself as a playmaker. It's a role he occupies when playing for the Turkish National Team and an area of his game he didn’t get a chance to show last season, asked to be more of the hustle and energy guy while spreading the floor and waiting for catch-and-shoot chances.

In the opener, of all the Cavaliers, Osman had the fifth-highest usage, trailing Love, Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson and Hood. Osman's percentage was 19.9.

By comparison, he hovered around 14 on an average night as a rookie.

"I'm not pleased because we lost," Osman said when recapping his performance. "This is going to be different. Having more of an opportunity to show (what I can do) and I want to give my best every time I'm on the court on offense and defense.

"It's good that they give me this opportunity and I can show people I'm not just a defensive player, I can play offense as well. I can create for myself and teammates. I'm an all-around player. I have the confidence, I know how to play so I just have to build my game."

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It was a learning experience Wednesday for first-round rookie Collin Sexton. (Associated Press)

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Sexton struggles

After missing five shots to begin his NBA career, Collin Sexton finally got one to drop. Then came another. But that was it for the first-round pick. He finished with nine points on 2-of-7 shooting and 5-of-5 from the line. He didn't have an assist against four turnovers.

Clarkson, paired up with Sexton as part of the rejiggered bench, noticed the game moving too fast for the rook. That's understandable. It was his first regular season game, his first time playing in such a tough environment.

Sure, he played in the preseason and the Cavs were happy with the progress. But Wednesday was a new level of intensity and pressure. It was an enormous leap in competition.

"I felt like they just played a little harder than us," Sexton said. "We have to keep pushing and pretty much keep fighting the whole entire game, not just at spurts at the end."

Welcome to the NBA, kid, here’s All-Star Kyle Lowry and Sixth Man of the Year finalist Fred VanVleet.

Sure, Sexton played at Alabama, in the SEC, against some future pros. But none like Lowry and there weren’t rim protectors like Serge Ibaka to swat away weak floaters either.

"It's his first game,” Lue said. "He's aggressive, want him to stay aggressive, being aggressive, attacking the basket. He's got to realize Ibaka and those guys are shot blocking as well. You can't just flip it up, you've got to go score. But overall I thought he did a good job in his first game and he's going to continue to get better."

Sexton was eager to put this game behind him. He doesn't want to dwell on this one performance. The plan was to watch film all the way to Minnesota, trying to see where he can improve before Friday's matchup against former All-Star Jeff Teague.

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Kevin Love wants technical rescinded

Late in the fourth quarter, Love was whistled for a foul. Frustrated with the call -- and how he had played all night -- Love grabbed the ball and pounded it into the hardwood near referee Kane Fitzgerald (yes, the official who ejected LeBron James last season) before getting hit with a technical foul.

According to Love, he didn’t swear. He wasn't demonstrative. He didn't show up the official. He simply shouted, "Come on!" One bounce was all it took for Love to get his first technical foul in the last two seasons.

Yes, that’s right, mild-mannered Love didn't pick up a single T last season. And he doesn't think he should've gotten one Wednesday either.

He joked with reporters after the game that it should be rescinded and if he does get fined he didn’t get his money's worth.

During the preseason, NBA ref Ed Malloy showed a Points of Education video to media members. One was labeled “Respect for the Game,” trying to improve the dwindling player-referee relationship.

In that video, it's stated that players are allowed some kind of initial reaction. Basketball is an emotional game. These guys aren’t robots. But anything after an initial reaction, among other points, would be asking for trouble.

It doesn't seem Love's technical fit the guidelines.

Maybe next year that moment will be used as what's allowed in comparison to Draymond Green -- or any number of other players -- who go on tirades after whistles.

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NBA.com

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Stat of the night

The Cavaliers shot an alarmingly low number of 3-pointers during the preseason. But, hey, those games don’t count, right? Plus three of those contests were played without Love, who led the team in total triple attempts last season.

Well, those deep-shooting woes carried over into the regular season.

After 24 minutes, the Cavaliers had only taken 10 triples. They finished with 19. That’s the fewest they’ve taken since Nov. 7, 2017. It matches the fourth-lowest number of long-range attempts since Jan. 20, 2016.

Even worse, Cleveland took 21 mid-range jumpers -- quite possibly the worst shot in basketball.