5 Early Takeaways from Cavs' 2nd-Round Showdown vs. Toronto Raptors
In what has become one of the NBA's best playoff rivalries, the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Toronto Raptors 113-112 in overtime during Game 1 to kick off their postseason trilogy.
Cleveland came into the game with only one day off following an intense seven-game first-round series with the Indiana Pacers, while Toronto had three days to prepare after defeating the Washington Wizards in six.
The Raptors finished the regular season with a franchise-record 59 wins, easily finishing first in the Eastern Conference and well above Cleveland's 50-win, fourth-place finish.
Still, only one team has LeBron James.
With this looking like the most intense postseason meeting we've seen from these teams to date, here are the five most important takeaways as the series gets underway.
Life from Cleveland's Role Players
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Cavaliers not named LeBron James were mostly awful in the first round, a combination of early playoff jitters, intense Indiana Pacers defense and injuries to their second- and third-best players.
James led the Cavs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks against Indiana, a series in which none of his teammates reached 20 points in any game.
That last stat was put to bed early against Toronto, as JR Smith's 5-of-6 shooting from deep helped him become the first non-James Cavalier to reach 20. Besides Smith, Kyle Korver (19 points), Jeff Green (16 points) and Tristan Thompson (14 points, 12 rebounds) were all major contributors as well.
This must have been a welcome sight for James, as he shot just 12-of-30 and 1-of-8 from three to finish with 26 points. A performance like this against the Pacers would have almost guaranteed a loss.
That's the good news for Cleveland.
For Toronto, there's still pride in knowing George Hill (four points on 2-of-7 shooting), Jordan Clarkson (five points on 2-of-7) and Rodney Hood (two points on 1-of-5) didn't appear to factor much into Cleveland's offensive plan at all. Larry Nance Jr. was a healthy scratch from head coach Tyronn Lue's rotation.
Overall, it was a nice start for others around James to step up, even if concerns with other members remain.
Jonas Valanciunas Is Toronto's X-Factor
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James has more than once referred to Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan as the "head of the snake" when discussing the Raptors, but it was center Jonas Valanciunas who the Cavs had little answer for all night.
Cleveland's plan to attack Valanciunas was noble. It went back to Kevin Love at center, given his previous success as a floor-spacer to drag the Lithuanian out to the three-point line and open up driving lanes for James. Unfortunately, this also meant Love had to try to guard the 7'0", 255-pound center at the other end.
This did not go well.
Valanciunas feasted on Love and Jeff Green in the post throughout most of the game, racking up 21 points and a game-high 21 rebounds. Cleveland's best option against him was clearly Tristan Thompson, who Lue routinely waited too long to use.
While Thompson can do a better job muscling him up on defense, this also means Valanciunas doesn't have to leave the paint to guard Thompson and can instead stay home on James' drives. James was clearly bothered by this, as he only attempted six of his 30 shot attempts at the rim.
Lue has a tough choice to make now on who starts at center for the rest of the series, knowing he runs the risk of Valanciunas going off for a big game or handicapping James on the offensive end.
Kevin Love Remains (Mostly) Lost
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Moving on from the Pacers and the terrific defense played by Thaddeus Young was supposed to snap Love out of his playoff funk. After being named an All-Star this season, he managed just 11.4 points on 33.3 percent shooting against Indiana.
Now, against a familiar Toronto team, is when the 29-year-old was supposed to return to form.
Spoiler alert: It didn't happen.
Love again looked lost on offense and lethargic on defense for most of the game, registering a team-worst minus-7 rating. He scored just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting, picked up five personal fouls and turned the ball over twice. A few times he failed to find an open Korver on the perimeter, only to force a shot or lose the ball inside.
A team-high 13 rebounds helped salvage the night, but it was still a concerning performance from Love who continues to battle a left hand injury suffered against the Pacers.
With Kyrie Irving long gone, Love's production throughout this postseason is needed more than ever. Cleveland squeaked by Indiana with minimal contribution from him. To do so against Toronto will be far more difficult.
Does Toronto Really Have a Mental Hurdle?
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Toronto has now lost seven straight postseason games against the Cavaliers, dating back to 2016. This one may be the most painful, though.
Everything was set up for a Raptors victory. From getting to host the Cavs in their building to tipping off a series for the first time to an extra two days of rest—to even the mere fact this is the weakest Cleveland team in years—they seemed primed to finally push past the Cavaliers.
Entering Game 1, the Raptors had gone a combined 37-7 at home this regular season and playoffs. This was their chance to make a statement, especially given how the past two Mays have gone.
Instead, Toronto choked away a fourth-quarter lead, shooting just 3-of-18 overall in the final four minutes of regulation and overtime. Cleveland didn't even take the lead until the overtime period, becoming just the second team in the past 20 years to do so and still win a game, per ESPN Stats and Info.
For a team that likely carried memories of past failures against James and these Cavs, this must have been devastating.
Game 2 will tell us a lot about the mental state of the Raptors. Cleveland isn't likely to give its best effort, knowing it's already taken back home-court advantage in the series.
Toronto can't afford to go back to Northeast Ohio down 2-0, and it'll likely play like its season depends on it.
Both Teams Can Be Much Better
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While there were brilliant stretches by both the Cavs and Raptors, neither team would say it played its best.
Toronto's collapse in the fourth quarter and overtime isn't likely to happen again; neither is its 14 total turnovers or 9-for-28 performance from behind the arc. Both Lowry (18 points, 10 assists) and DeRozan (22 points, seven rebounds, five assists) were good, with both being capable of giving more.
For the Cavs, watching their three best players (James, Love, Hill) shoot a combined 17-for-50 (34.0 percent) and still win has to be encouraging.
James called his performance "probably one of my worst games of the season", despite collecting his 21st career playoff triple-double. The Cavaliers shot just 41.2 percent from the field and got beat up in paint scoring (50 points to 40, Raptors).
With no disrespect to the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, these are the two best teams in the conference (even if the Cavs' record doesn't show it). One, a top-five offensive and defensive team in the regular season; the other, an average overall roster lifted by the sheer greatness of the game's best overall player.
For a tune-up game in what's likely to be a long series, this was about as entertaining as it gets.
Both teams can, and likely will, be even better moving forward.
Greg Swartz covers the Cleveland Cavaliers for Bleacher Report. Stats provided by NBA.com and Basketball Reference unless otherwise noted.
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