After last season’s postseason sweep, the Toronto Raptors changed their roster and play style to match up up better against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The changes seemed to work in the regular season, with the Raptors leaping out to 59 wins and a #1 finish in the Eastern Conference. Now, Toronto once again finds itself down 2 games to none at the hands of an old foe: LeBron James. In fact, this year it’s worse; they lost 2 at home and are now going back to Cleveland to try and dig themselves out.
After a tough 7-game series against the Indiana Pacers, most, including Third and Long’s very own Austin Barach, were consigning the 2017-2018 Cavs to the scrap heap of playoff loserdom. But after a quick turnaround, the Cavs won the first 2 matchups in Toronto. The first game was an overtime thriller in which Cleveland came back after never leading during regulation.
Game 1 highlighted several important things: first, Toronto still chokes with the game on the line against the Cavs. In fourth quarter crunch time, the Raptors missed shots in bunches (including their last 11 in regulation) while Cavs veterans JR Smith and Kevin Love knocked down key buckets. Second, although LeBron James was his usual excellent self with a triple-double and 26 points, none of those tallies came in overtime, and he shot a mere 12 of 30 on the game. The Cavs’ success came not from being carried by LeBron, but rather by the elevated play of several role players--the Cavs had four players not named LeBron James who scored in double digits.
Following up the thrilling Game 1 triumph, the Raptors looked to bounce back and prove they can beat the Cavs were instead run off their own court. After a close first half, Toronto was outscored 67 to 47 in the remaining 36 minutes. In an even worse omen for Toronto, the Cavs once again received balanced scoring (five players in double digits), and Kevin Love finally broke out with 31 points and 11 rebounds. After being visibly tired in Game 1, LeBron James was transcendent, filling the scoresheet with 41 points and 14 assists on 19-28 shooting in only 40 minutes. He also made some truly incredible shots, including several impressive stepback Js in the third quarter. The most important improvement for the Cavs, going back to Game 7 against Indiana, is that LeBron is not carrying the team. With balanced contributions from the starters, the bench, and especially Kevin Love, the Cavs are beginning to find their potential.
What explains the Cavs’ marvelous turnaround from their series against the Pacers? Part of it is the matchup. The Indiana Pacers played Cleveland tough all year, winning the regular season series 3-1. For whatever reason, the Cavs struggled against the Pacers, but they did better against other teams, including the Toronto Raptors, against whom they won 2 of 3 games. Another part of the Cavs’ improvement is that the 7-game series may have actually benefited them. The long series gave a Cleveland team that is not very well-acquainted more time to learn how to play with one another and with LeBron. The extended game experience also gave coach Ty Lue time to figure out the right playoff rotations (which have paid off so far against Toronto). A struggle in round one tested these Cavs, and having passed their trial by fire, they are stronger and more united.
Every year since LeBron James has returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers, a few teams have thought they could challenge The King, and they have always been wrong. While this year’s Cavs are clearly more limited without Kyrie Irving, they remain incredibly dangerous. With LeBron, they are #1 in the Eastern Conference until another team can prove otherwise in a 7-game series, and it hasn’t happened yet. So with 2 games in Cleveland to look forward to, I’m not predicting a sweep, but this year’s Raptors are going the way of their namesake.
(Statistics via NBA.com)
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