Game Preview
The Cavs took care of business on their home floor but things will change across the pond. Toronto has the home court advantage for the next two games, but will that be enough to defeat the Cavs, who won the first two games by 13 and 10 points?
No team has ever won a playoff series after going down 0-3 so it’s pretty much do or die for the Raptors. Head coach Darko Rajakovic remains confident.
I think that the (Game 2) effort was better. We got some answers. We got some adjustments. We got more adjustments coming.
I think (Game 2) was really decided with our 22 turnovers that led to 22 points. That’s something that you cannot live with in the playoffs and expect to win. And that’s a big area of emphasis for us, how to get better through that.
There are a couple of wild cards. Thomas Bryant may be back for the Cavaliers as Kenny sounded optimistic that he would play Monday. He didn’t, but now he has two more days so I expect he’ll be available. For the Raptors, Immanuel Quickley’s status is still up in the air.
Literally every day, he’s feeling better, he’s moving better, he’s running better. He’s going through that process of return to play,” Rajakovic said. “He’s on the court right now getting extra work, so we’ll see where he’s at tomorrow.”
Quickley last played a month ago except for three games from April 7-12 in which he averaged 19 minutes. If he plays he could be pretty rusty and perhaps on a minutes restriction. I don’t know if he will make them better even if he plays.
Speaking of adjustments, the Raptors played differently in Game 2, attacking the rim more and trying to push the pace, but it wasn’t enough.
They threw a lot of punches. They threw the kitchen sink at us, gave us a lot of different looks and got it close there but we kept our poise on both ends. This is a real playoff win, right? This is what the playoffs is about. They came at us. They came at us hard and we responded. - KA
The Cavs held the Raptors to 7-of-26 on 3-point attempts as the Raptors regressed to the norm after hitting 13-of-27 in Game 1. The Raptors scored only 105 points after scoring 113 in the opener.
In addition, the Cavs forced 22 turnovers which was a season high for the Raptors. The combination of poor 3-point shooting and excessive turnovers pretty much did in the Raptors’ offense.
The only time the game got away or when we were really struggling is when we turned the ball over. - Scottie Barnes
The Cavaliers accomplished one more thing defensively - they reduced the Raptors free throw attempts from 35 to 17. If the Cavs can continue to minimize fouling, force a high turnover rate, and hold the Raptors to fewer than 10 made 3’s they will be in good shape.
Dean Wade has turned into a huge asset for the Cavaliers. With Wade on the floor Cleveland has outscored the Raptors by 34 points which is the most on either team.
One area where the Cavs slipped defensively in Game 2 is transition defense as the Raptors went from 3 fast break points to 16. They averaged almost 19 during the season and I’m sure they will try to push the pace at every opportunity. They don’t shoot 3’s well enough to score a lot in the half-court offense.
The Raptors scored 36 points in the paint in Game 1 but made a huge jump to 64 in Game 2. You could see they gave up on the 3-pointer and just attacked the rim every time down. Barnes and Barrett were especially aggressive in bulling their way to the rim. I expect the same approach in Game 3 - fast break at every opportunity and force their way to the rim in the half-court offense. Getting Mobley in foul trouble would be huge.
Barnes and Barrett were 21-for-32 overall and took only five 3-point attempts between them. Collin Murray-Boyles was 6-for-8 on 2-point attempts. I’m sure the Raptors will be relentlessly attacking the rim with Barnes, Barrett, and CMB. Those guys are very good in the paint.
Offensively the Cavs dropped from 50% on 3’s in Game 1 to 32%. They probably need to push that percentage up to the 40% area if they are to win in Toronto because they can’t count on Brandon Ingram going 3-for-15 again.
Mitchell, Harden, and Mobley combined for 83 of the Cavs' 115 points as the offense was not exactly well-balanced. Toronto started blitzing Harden and Mitchell to try and force turnovers when they were behind in the 4th quarter. I won’t be surprised if they try that tactic earlier, especially when only one of Mitchell or Harden is on the floor.
If they blitz it will be up to Mitchell and Harden to pass out of the double-team before it traps them and forces a turnover. Then it will be up to the secondary scorers to hit shots before the defense can recover.
Harden was not happy with the Cavs offense, particularly when they had to force up a shot with the clock expiring.
We just got to be better, getting a better shot early in the clock, especially on the road. - Harden
I’d say Harden is the main culprit when it comes to dribbling, dribbling, dribbling until the shot clock is almost expired. We might see less of that and more of him pushing the action early.
When the Raptors have the ball I expect even more urgency in pushing the ball up the floor and attacking the rim before the Cavs can set up their defense. In the half-court the Raptors will keep forcing the ball into the paint for high percentage shots and to draw fouls. Ingram will be highly motivated to get back to his Game 1 first half form where he scored 13 points on mid-range jumpers.
The key for the Cavs will be transition defense and rim protection. Allen, Mobley, and Wade need to contest shots in the paint successfully without fouling and get the rebound.
Also, the Raptors increased their offensive rebounds from 4 to 12 and I expect them to try for even more second chance points in Game 3. Barrett had 4 offensive rebounds and Mamu had 3 in Game 2. When the Cavs go small the Raptors will be crashing the offensive glass. I think that is one of the adjustments Rajakovic was talking about.
When the Cavs have the ball I expect the Raptors to focus on getting more steals and forcing Mitchell and Harden to give up the ball, even if they have to blitz them. I don’t think they’ll let Harden have 10 seconds of dribbling between his legs to set somebody up for a blow-by or a step-back 3; they’ll blitz him and force a pass.
If Poeltl does not play then Mobley and Allen will have the height advantage over 6’9” Mamu and 6’7” Murray-Boyles. The Cavs should get the ball to Mobley or Allen and let them go to work. But I think a lot of the offense could come down to Merrill, Tyson, Wade, and Strus making open 3’s after Mitchell or Harden get doubled and give up the ball.
Injury Report
CLEVELAND
Thomas Bryant - OUT (calf)
TORONTO
Immanuel Quickley - QUESTIONABLE (hamstring)
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Game Previews courtesy of @Wham with the Right Hand