Planning for the Cavs Matchup

[jacobdr4]

I think he threw that game on purpose, it was clear when he tried that silly play at the end.

I just don't understand why he would throw the game on purpose. We are way scarier than the Celtics especially with Kyrie out. He just isn't a great free throw shooter in the clutch. Simple as that.

[planetmars]

I will say though if I was a Cavs fan I would rather face Indiana in round 1 over a team like Miami or Milwaukee (or even Washington). Indiana has had a great season.. but they match up pretty poorly against the Cavs.

[Hotshot]

I will say though if I was a Cavs fan I would rather face Indiana in round 1 over a team like Miami or Milwaukee (or even Washington). Indiana has had a great season.. but they match up pretty poorly against the Cavs.

Indiana will look like the Raptors against Washington from 3 seasons ago. Will be an easy series for the Cavs.

[golden]

I just don't understand why he would throw the game on purpose. We are way scarier than the Celtics especially with Kyrie out. He just isn't a great free throw shooter in the clutch. Simple as that.

Lebron doesn't fear anybody in the East and even if he did, last on that list of scary people would be Kyle and DeMar. Who knows - maybe Lebron wanted his client, Ben Simmons, to face the Celtics and have an easier path to the ECF? Sixers are on the opposite side of the Cavs bracket right now, so Sixers-Cavs ECF is definitely in play.

[KeonClark]

Lebron doesn't fear anybody in the East and even if he did, last on that list of scary people would be Kyle and DeMar. Who knows - maybe Lebron wanted his client, Ben Simmons, to face the Celtics and have an easier path to the ECF? Sixers are on the opposite side of the Cavs bracket right now, so Sixers-Cavs ECF is definitely in play.

Having Sixers advance further may also help justify him moving there this summer.

It's all possible with LeBron. He operates as a corporation more than a human being, and he's always moving the chess pieces

[planetmars]

Lebron doesn't fear anybody in the East and even if he did, last on that list of scary people would be Kyle and DeMar. Who knows - maybe Lebron wanted his client, Ben Simmons, to face the Celtics and have an easier path to the ECF? Sixers are on the opposite side of the Cavs bracket right now, so Sixers-Cavs ECF is definitely in play.

Lebron had a 40pt triple double. If he wanted to lose that game, why put up 40 points? Why go for a 3 when down by 3 and get fouled doing so? Why make the first free throw only to miss the second? Why miss that third and try to get a put back on an offensive rebound (which almost happened).

I believe in the 8v5. But Lebron losing on purpose to help Simmons? That's chemtrail crazy talk.

[MixxAOR]

I just don't understand why he would throw the game on purpose. We are way scarier than the Celtics especially with Kyrie out. He just isn't a great free throw shooter in the clutch. Simple as that.

I don't think he threw that game on purpose but in his mind they can beat Celtics and they can beat Raptors. So it would be nice to face Celtics but he's not gonna put 100% focus and effort to make that happen

[Superjudge]

He doesnt get the whistle so blatantly against the Celtics boys, come on, think about it. A playoff series against a Toronto team is a dream for big market/ big name superstars in the US. The NBA doesnt care to see toronto make it out of the first round, Lebron knows for a fact he has an easy gallup through toronto in the second round if they make it there.

[Truth Teller]

Do the Raptors have anyone who can even stop Lebron? I could see Lebron getting 35-10-10 in any matchup except in the finals. Raptors need to make Lebron kill us late in games with his jumper.

[GOLDBLUM]

[Ebonhawke]

Do the Raptors have anyone who can even stop Lebron? I could see Lebron getting 35-10-10 in any matchup except in the finals. Raptors need to make Lebron kill us late in games with his jumper.

I don't think anyone in the East (or really in the West) has a 'Lebron stopper'. I think the key for dealing with the Cavs team, as a whole, is that third number. Lebron will get his 30-40 points, but if you limit the number of assists he gets, then the task of beating the Cavs becomes simpler. The challenge is that Lebron will adapt, so you can't do the same thing every game, because he'll figure out different ways to try to beat you.

[Truth Teller]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyHhpipwUFk

Watch the video first. Basically Cavs were on fire when they beat us. But for all we know, Cavs can also be this hot in the playoffs. For some reason Raptors always get the worst luck.

[GLF]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyHhpipwUFk

Watch the video first. Basically Cavs were on fire when they beat us. But for all we know, Cavs can also be this hot in the playoffs. For some reason Raptors always get the worst luck.

I agree with Stephen A's point. We are for sure the better team overall by a decent margin but sadly that won't ensure a win against Cleveland. As stephen A said, we get tight and we don't play them like we think we can win. Our defence goes to shit, Lebron does as he pleases while everyone watches helplessly and our role players can't hit open shots to save their lives. Oh and let's not get started on the substitutions Casey makes against them. Kyle and Demar normally play good against Cleveland but they need to be great and they normally aren't. I pray this all changes in the playoffs this year but at this point it's all mental. We HAVE to find a way to play defence against that team. It's like we go from top 5 defence to dead last when we play them. We can score against Cleveland no problem, that's not the worry but you can't allow Lebron to go off AND have all their role players hitting wide open three after wide open three. You gotta take away something. If Lebron is scoring 30 AND getting 10 plus assists it's over.

[GLF]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyHhpipwUFk

Watch the video first. Basically Cavs were on fire when they beat us. But for all we know, Cavs can also be this hot in the playoffs. For some reason Raptors always get the worst luck.

I have noticed that Cleveland seems to shoot the ball better against us than any other team but we have to take some blame for that. We play terrible defence against them. If you're giving Love open look after open look you're screwed. He barely misses. Also Calderon's shooting might have surprised some of you but it hasn't surprised me. He's been an elite 3 point shooter for some time now, leave him open and it's a wrap. Almost everyone on their team can hit the 3 at a pretty high clip so if you're constantly over-helping on Lebron that's a wide open 3 for their role players and unlike ours Cleveland's hits their open shots. Oh and as Dan H has said OG and Pascal have to be on Lebron every minute that he plays. Anytime CJ or Demar or Serge get switched on to him it's an automatic score for Lebron or a pass to one of his wide open teammates. OG and Pascal are not gonna stop him but they at least show him a little resistance. Everyone else gets man handled.

[Truth Teller]

In history - the quickest way to dethrone a king is to kill him. We need some guys to rough him up a bit.