CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers got the best of the Toronto Raptors to take a tentative lead in their first-round NBA playoffs series. Cleveland routed Toronto 126-113. The Cavaliers, whose last championship came in 2016 courtesy of an improbable comeback, will be hoping they don’t need to experience a repeat to get the best of “The North.”
Cavaliers Take Series Lead Over Raptors With Slow Tempo Edge; Playoffs Rotation Revealed
Cavaliers Lean Into Identity
The Cavaliers have a quick turnaround on Tuesday, hoping to take a commanding 2–0 lead in their playoff series against the Raptors. They own a league-leading tax bill of a whopping $68.6 million. This is a team in clear championship-or-bust mode. They need every advantage they can get in these playoffs. At a Cavs-controlled pace, the game shifted toward half-court execution and shooting efficiency. Cleveland’s profile—elite shot-making and lower-variance offense—outperformed Toronto’s possession-driven, pressure-based approach.
Unsurprisingly, the Raptors have a huge problem putting a defender in front of Donovan Mitchell. In the regular season, he averaged 24 points, 7 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in two games against Toronto. The Cavaliers were swept 3–0 by the Raptors in the regular-season series, but those results have no bearing on this playoff series, as all of those games took place before December. This was months before the series of trades GM Koby Altman would make later at the trade deadline. Mitchell scored 32 points to lead all scorers. He showed he will get whatever shot he wants in this series, while making the right pass when he needs to.
Pace: “Slow And Steady” Wins
The team went with the decision to start Dean Wade. He earned a career-best 38 starts in his seventh season in the league. The Cavaliers stuck to the methodical approach they adopted after the trade deadline. They started the season as a run-and-gun offense, as high as eighth in the league. Their offense slowed to the eighth-worst rate once James Harden joined the team.
To keep up with the Raptors’ all-out European style, shaped by their Serbian-born and raised coach Dario Rajakovic, the Cavs chose to rely on high quality shots in the half court. Harden showed his ability to control the tie with a 22-point, 11-assist double-double. Maintaining this new status quo potentially has longer term postseason benefits. The Cavs always seem to break down the deeper they go into the postseason. Will this pace stop injuries from piling up?
Adjustments: Emphasis on Drives and Rebounding
The Cavs showed they can control the results of the Raptors offensive actions. RJ Barrett scored 3 three pointers. That’s what the Cavaliers coaching staff want. He shot below league average from behind the arc this season, at a 33.9 percent rate. The Cavaliers demonstrated they are well equipped to deal with teams with long wings despite having a rotation of five guards. Cleveland forced both Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram to take only 23 shots in the entire game, holding the star tandem to just 38 points.
They also outmuscled Toronto on the glass while having no problem scoring 48 points in the restricted area. The constant drives belied their middle-of-the-pack league rank. The drives which took advantage of Jakob Poeltl’s struggles, were by design by the Cavs coaching staff.
“Especially attacking the chest—going into Toronto’s chest tonight—that was one of the reasons I felt good coming into this game, just where Donovan is mentally and physically right now,” coach Kenny Atkinson said of Mitchell’s drives. “And then for us, it’s the possession game—rebounding and turnovers are the two areas we always emphasize because they decide possessions.” Atkinson added.
Rotation Clarity
Atkinson went with a 10-man playoffs rotation in the tightly-contested first half, with Max Strus, Sam Merrill, Dennis Schroder, Keon Ellis, and Jaylon Tyson coming off the bench to join the starting five. Strus showed that he could be THE x-factor off the bench with career-best 24 points.
Credit:© Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
