LeBron James, Kyrie Irving Comment on Cavaliers vs. Raptors Matchup

Despite being 8-0 in the postseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers are not taking the Toronto Raptors lightly ahead of the teams' Eastern Conference Finals matchup.

Kyrie Irving and LeBron James praised the Raptors for being a formidable foe, particularly Toronto's star backcourt of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, according to Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor.

"They're two All-Stars for a reason," James said Sunday. "And that's the reason that they're in the Eastern Conference Finals, because they're two All-Stars. They're All-Stars for a reason. They wouldn't be in this position without them."

However, ESPN's Skip Bayless had another perspective on what James should be thinking:

Irving acknowledged that Lowry presents a defensive challenge and that he will need to make an extra effort to stay in front of the All-Star.

"It's always great to go against another great point guard and All-Star in our league," Irving said of Lowry, per Fedor. "He does a tremendous job of leading their team. I have to do a great job of keeping my body in front of him, making it difficult and forcing him into tough shots." 

If the Lowry who poured in 35 points in Sunday's Game 7 win over the Miami Heat shows up, Irving will have his hands full. Yet that is not a given, as Lowry was shooting just 34.9 percent from the field heading into the game and has struggled with consistency in the postseason.

And Toronto does not present anything Cleveland has not already seen in the postseason.

Even if Jonas Valanciunas (ankle) does play, he is not more of a force inside than Detroit's Andre Drummond or Atlanta's Al Horford. Cleveland had no problem neutralizing their size with its small lineup, which it can do again by deploying Channing Frye and Kevin Love on the perimeter to move Toronto's big men out of the paint.

The Cavaliers have also had to deal with explosive point guards Reggie Jackson (Detroit) and Jeff Teague (Atlanta), who may be quicker than Toronto's floor general, though Lowry is a more prolific scorer.

The main concern will be DeRozan. With James likely to guard DeMarre Carroll and Irving taking Lowry, it will likely be up to Iman Shumpert to check DeRozan.

Cleveland is a proven playoff team, and it has more depth than Toronto. Unless DeRozan and Lowry play the series of their lives, it will be difficult to stop the Cavaliers from again representing the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.

All statistics courtesy of ESPN.com.