The Cavaliers continue to roll through the Eastern Conference with little resistance, winning 10 straight playoff games by an average of 13.4 points. The Raptors looked helpless in the first two games of the conference final, but are hopeful a return north of the border can change their way.
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LOOK AHEAD
For the most part, the story of Game 2 was the same as the narrative of Game 1. The Cavaliers pretty much did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, and the Raptors didn’t have much to say about it. The Cavs crushed Toronto on Thursday, dominating the second half to roll to a 108-89 win. Cleveland remains undefeated in the postseason, a perfect 10-0 through two and a half rounds.
Now that Raptors general manger Masai Ujiri has intimated center Jonas Valanciunas could miss the enter Eastern Conference final, it just doesn’t appear as though the Raptors have enough talent to create problems that the Cavs can’t solve, or to present solutions for the ones Cleveland is raising on every trip down the floor. Getting back home may help the Raptors close the gap, but overcoming the Cavaliers seems like an extremely long shot at this point.
INJURIES
It’s been mentioned that Valanciunas could miss the rest of the series with his sprained ankle suffered during Game 3 of the Miami series. The rest of the NBA series could be two more games.
The presence of Valanciunas may not have changed the outcome of the first two games, but he would have provided Toronto with an inside presence that could have made things a bit more difficult for the Cavs. We’ll never know if those games would have been closer with him in the lineup.
KEY MATCHUP
LeBron James and the Cavaliers smell blood. James recorded his 15th career postseason triple-double with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, helping to keep the Cavs perfect in the 2016 postseason with a 108-89 victory on Thursday. Cleveland has won the first two games in the series by a combined 50 points, and they are making it look easy.
James hit 7 of 13 from the field and earned 17 free throws by continuing his relentless assault on the rim. The only scab on his line was the eight missed freebies. James attempted just one fewer shot from the charity stripe than the entire Raptors team. James has made 18 of 26 from the floor in the series while attempting just three three-pointers. Without Valanciunas anchoring down the middle for Toronto, James waltzed through the Raptors defense to generate great looks for himself and his teammates.
QUICK PICK
While Toronto’s All-Star backcourt tandem of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan are on the court physically, mentally they’ve been taken out of the game. Lowry was literally taken out of Game 2. He walked off the floor to the team’s locker room during the final few minutes of the first half to “decompress.” The decompression didn’t work and Lowry struggled through another miserable shooting night. DeRozan wasn’t much better and the Raptors have few other options for offense.
Even if those two somehow find their game and start making shots, it’s still questionable if the Raptors can do enough defensively to beat Cleveland. James has done his part and he’s gotten plenty of help. The synergy displayed by the Cavs is just too much for the Raptors to contend with.
NBA Odds: Cleveland 108, Toronto 100
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