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Starting Lineup:
RAPTORS:
PG: Kyle Lowry
SG: DeMar DeRozan
SF: OG Anunoby
PF: Serge Ibaka
C: Jonas Valanciunas
CAVALIERS
PG: LeBron James
SG: Rodney Hood
SF: Cedi Osman
PF: Jeff Green
C: Kevin Love
Last Meeting
APRIL 3, 2018
RAPTORS 106 CAVALIERS 112
James scored 27 points, the last coming on a sensational layup, and the Cavaliers topped the Eastern conference leading Raptors. As Cleveland's crowd cheered following his artistic shot, James walked within a few feet of Toronto's bench, pounded his chest several times and screamed, "I'm still a problem!" DeMar DeRozan scored 19 and Jonas Valanciunas 17 for Toronto. The Raptors didn't quit and scored eight points in 34 seconds before the Cavs put it away with four free throws. Kyle Lowry scored only 5 on 2-of-11 shooting.
Keys To The Game:
1) 104.9. Toronto, eighth in defensive rating (104.9 points per 100 possessions) in the regular season, is a better defensive team than Indiana (16th, 106.3). That could make the Raptors better suited to survive an individual onslaught from James. The Raptors do have the same problem as every other team in the East — no one can handle James one-on-one. During the season, it was mostly rookie OG Anunoby, and according to the NBA’s matchup data, James shot 61.9 percent against Anunoby this season. But they can close off other scoring chances for the Cavs with the strong defensive play they showed in the regular season.
2) Two areas where the Cavaliers get much of their offense — spot-up shooting and transition — also happen to be two areas in which the Toronto defense excels. Cleveland was fourth in terms of percentage of possessions that came in transition (17.5) and seventh in transition efficiency (1.13 points per 100 possessions). The Raptors were No. 1 in defending transition, though, allowing 1.03 points per possession.And in spot-up shooting, the Cavs were tops in the league with 1.08 points per possession, while Toronto was ninth defending those shots, at 0.99 points per possession. Cleveland has already been struggling in that department in the postseason, dropping to just 0.71 points per possession on spot-up shots. If those numbers all break in Toronto’s direction, the Raptors' defense is in position to make James carry a heftier load than he can handle.
3) One key to the series will be Toronto's bench, where they have a huge advantage, which will allow them to go on big runs when LeBron is out of the game.
4) If Lowry and DeRozan play the way they've been playing and the offense continues it's sharing ways, the Raptors should be able to beat the Cavs. Toronto is the better team.
5) The time has come to dethrone the King.
Let's Go Raptors!!!!
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