Cavs Storm Past Raptors Again

The Toronto Raptors came into this game losers of 4 out of their last 7 games. Not the best time to be in a slump but Toronto has one of the toughest schedules left in the NBA. They will have to respond and show their grit as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers are starting to get all their pieces back together and the only one out of this game was George Hill. Toronto was fully healthy and are coming off of a bad loss to the hands of the Boston Celtics.

The Cavaliers and Raptors traded baskets in the first quarter. The Cavaliers focused in on DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry off the pick-and-rolls and forced someone else on the Raptors to make the play. Jonas received the pass off of the pick-and-rolls and made the right decisions. He was precise with his passes and effective scoring inside. JV led the team early with 8 first quarter points and was dominating early. The Raptors struggled to guard the 3-point shot as the Cavaliers were able to move the ball around the perimeter and knock down their shots. The first quarter score was 24-28 with the Cavaliers taking the early 4-point lead.

JV was active inside and took advantage of the Cavaliers smaller lineup.

The Bench Mob started the second quarter and were active on both ends of the court. The bench continued their strong play and tied the game at 33-33 capped off by a Siakam tomahawk slam in transition. The Raptors were capitalizing on the minutes that LeBron James was on the bench. But as soon as the Cavs starters subbed back in, the tables were turned again. The bench created wide open looks on offense but could not knock them down which led to Cleveland pushing the pace and finding an open look of their own and they knock it down. Story of the game. Kevin Love hits back-to-back threes to cap off an 8-0 run. Both Ibaka and Valanciunas turned the ball over multiple times in the second quarter which led to Cleveland scoring opportunities which they thrived on. In a blink of an eye, the lead ballooned to 38-51 with 4 minutes left in the second. Toronto made a late push and capped it off with an OG Anunoby three in the corner to cut the lead to 8 going into halftime with a score of 52-60.

The Raptors started the third quarter strong and used their size to their advantage. Both JV and Ibaka were attacking the inside and scoring well. Toronto managed to stop the Cavaliers’ offense a couple times to start the quarter and cut the lead to 5 points. Every time the Raptors got close, the Cavaliers managed to get an easy shot for LeBron or a wide open three. Jose Calderon, the long time ex-Raptor, torched the Raptors again. The first time Jose lit up the Raptors for 17 points and tonight he dropped 19 points on 7/11 shooting with 3/5 from three. Every missed basket or turnover, the Cleveland Cavaliers pushed the pace and drilled wide open threes. The disadvantage of going big is in the transition where JV was unable to get back on defence and LeBron used that to his advantage to find open shooters and extend the lead once again. Toronto could not chip into the lead and the score was 78-86.

Ibaka played well in this game and finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds on the night.

In the fourth quarter, the bench was able to defend consistently against the Cavaliers but were unable to hit the big baskets to cut down the lead. CJ Miles had another rough night shooting and so did the other members of the Bench Mob. The starters came back in and had a tough time dealing with the LeBron James pick-and-roll similar to what they struggled with last game. The Raptors brought help on the drives but were one rotation away every time from getting a defensive stop. Down the stretch, LeBron James went isolation after getting Siakam off of him with a screen. LeBron was an one-man wrecking crew as he muscled through the contact and went to the line constantly.

CJ Miles with the offensive foul as LeBron James was all over the court in this one.

Casey waved the white flag earlier than usual in anticipation of the back-to-back game they have against the Boston Celtics. The Boston Celtics game has a lot more at stake with the 1st seed in the Eastern Conference hanging in the balance. The Raptors’ bench miraculously created an 8-0 run with less than a minute to go with key steals and shot-making. Back-to-back turnovers from the Cavs turned into back-to-back baskets for the Raptors. Larry Drew, who is stepping in for Tyronne Lue’s absence, had to get his starters back on the court with 11 seconds left on the clock and a 4-point game. The bench put up a great effort to steal the game, but the Cavs iced it with free throws.

Toronto Raptors Cleveland Cavaliers

106 112

Player of the Game

DeRozan had a quiet 19 points on the evening and was not able to carry the Raptors to the win.

DeMar DeRozan

33 minutes, 19 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks, 1 turnover, 7-13 shooting, 0-2 3PT, 5-5 FT, -10

Hard to find a player of the game in tonight’s battle between two of the top three teams in the Eastern Conference, but DeRozan played well even though he was double teamed throughout this game. DeRozan created high percentage looks for his teammates on the offensive end and was able to score big baskets to stop some of the Cleveland runs. DeRozan played the best out of the rest of the group but was visibly frustrated by the number of breakdowns on the defensive end. DeMar will need to lead his team tomorrow night against the visiting Boston Celtics which will be the most important game of the remainder of the season.

Things To Take Away From This Game

1. Defence

• Casey and staff have yet to see this Raptors team put together consecutive stops on the defensive end. There were several defensive breakdowns in this game where shooters were left completely open for more than two seconds. Jose Calderon being one of those shooters who had enough time to tie his shoes, eat a meal and sing a song before knocking down his 3-point shot. The Raptors, after being broken down off the dribble, never ran and contested the shot. Instead, they all ball watched and were praying that he misses. This defence was atrocious tonight especially from the starters, but the bench wasn’t much better. In the previous match-up, the Cavs were on fire and hitting tough contested shots. This time around the Raptors barely contested their shots and this Cavaliers team has too many good shooters to leave them wide open. Back to the drawing board.

2. Kyle Lowry

• Now this is the second time to call out Kyle Lowry in as many games, but the Villanova product was off once again. Kyle flew into Cleveland after being in San Antonio, Texas the night before to watch his college team, the Villanova Wildcats, capture the NCAA Title. Kyle struggled shooting the ball and was invisible on the offensive end. He shot the worst shooting percentage out of all the Raptors that played and led the team in turnovers. Rough night. Lowry needs to respond big time against the Celtics tomorrow night.

The floor general for the Toronto Raptors struggled shooting the ball. Lowry went 2-11 from the field and ended the game with 5 points.

3. Details

• The Raptors on paper played a good game by winning many of the team categories. The Raptors scored more in the paint, outrebounded the Cavs, accumulated more assists, and turned the ball over less. The Raptors were not able to capitalize on their wide open looks which could have made this game completely different. The Raptors shot nearly the same amount of 3-pointers, but shot 12 less free throws. Toronto will need to make a consistent effort to attack the inside and draw fouls. If the shot isn’t falling, driving into the paint is your best bet.

Pictures courtesy of:

http://www.nba.com/raptors/gallery/rapscavs-040318