#CanBall Weekly: Tristan Thompson key piece to Cavaliers' championship puzzle

Tristan Thompson couldn't ask for a better ally in the game of basketball than LeBron James.  As Thompson squared off with the Cavaliers in contract negotiations this summer that caused the 24-year-old power forward from Brampton, Ont., to miss training, James remained firmly on his side.

The two share an agent, Rich Paul, but the bond definitely goes deeper than that. James, a four-time MVP, two-time champion, and by acclaim one of the greatest players in the history of basketball, recognizes the value Thompson brings to a Cavaliers team that's the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.

“I’m not going to go to them and tell them what they should do,” James said a few weeks before Thompson signed a five-year, $82 million deal with Cleveland. “That’s their job. They know how to do it very well, and they’ve done that to this point. They’ve brought in and did what they had to do for us to be a contending team. Tristan is a big part of that run we want to make.”

The Cavaliers are off to a flying start at 11-4 and Thompson stands out as their most important reserve. Coming off the bench for 27 minutes per game, Thompson is averaging 10.1 rebounds and chipping offensively with 7.8 points. He also recently played in his 300th consecutive game, a testament to his durability, especially considering his phyiscal style of play, and hasn't missed a game since sitting out four straight with a bad ankle early during his rookie season.

That's the kind of worker Thompson is and it's how he's earned the respect of a player as decorated as LeBron. With a new contract in hand and a key role on a championship contender, the hard work has been well worth it.

Raptors do it up on Drake Night

Drake was courtside (with his mom), his hits blared from the Air Canada Centre speaker, and the crowd was rocking. The Raptors hosted Drake Night for the third time Wednesday night with Thompson, James, and the Cavaliers in Toronto for their first visit of the season.

Turns out the Raptors players were just as charged up for the occasion as the fans. Kyle Lowry scored 27 points to lift Toronto to a 103-99 win over Cleveland and improve their record to 10-6.

It was also a reunion for Thompson and longtime friend Cory Joseph. The pair grew up playing AAU basketball together in the Toronto area and were high school in teammates at Findlay Prep in Las Vegas and at Texas in the NCAA.

6-PACK OF COLD SHOTS:

1. This was great: Guarded by future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitkzi, Kelly Olynyk launched a patented one-legged Nowitzki fadeaway. The shot didn't fall, but it got a laugh out of Nowitzki, which has to be worth something.

And while he didn't get that specific attempt to go down, Olynyk has hit his fair share of long-distance jumpers since entering the NBA in 2013-14 according to this stat:

2. Kentucky guard Jamal Murray and Gonzaga forward Kyle Wiltjer will get the bulk of the attention, but don't overlook Iowa State's Naz Mitrou-Long. The senior swingman scored a season-high 24 points in the Cyclones' 83-63 win over Chattanooga on Monday, canning six three-pointers.

3. There was no movement this week in the men's CIS top five with No. 1 Ottawa (5-0), No. 2 Carleton (5-0), No. 3 McGil (4-1)l, No. 4 Brock (3-1), and No. 5 Ryerson (4-1) holding strong.

4. There was, however, some change in the women's rankings. St. Mary's (4-0) jumped from No. 5 to No. 2 while Saskatchewan (6-0) maintains their spot at No. 1.

5. Raptors 905 won their first game Sunday, beating the Maine Red Claws, after opening the season with four straight losses.

6. Check this is out from Neate Sager for Eh Game: UBC Okanagan guard Aldrich Berrios hit two last-gasp three-pointers to lift the Heat to an improbable win over Mount Royal on Saturday.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr