The top two teams in the East will square off in the conference final with both clubs taking a different path to get here. The Cavaliers will be well rested after a pair of sweeps while the Raptors needed two Game 7 wins at home to earn their first trip to the third round of the postseason.
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LOOK AHEAD
The Cavaliers were long ago penciled in as NBA finalist and get to skip the awkward ‘LeBron James vs. bitter former club’ headlines. The only thing separating the Cavs from the championship round is a Raptors team that should be thrilled to be there. Toronto is physically worn down after playing consecutive seven-game series and losing its starting center, Jonas Valanciunas, along the way. Meanwhile, Cleveland is remarkably fresh, with back-to-back sweeps to their credit and an empty injury report to their name.
The Cavs’ big three of James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love have never played better together, and the team’s perimeter collection is suddenly a record-setting group. If the Raptors can somehow bottle what they found in Game 7 against the Heat, keep guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan playing at a high level, and get some input from the supporting cast, Toronto could make things difficult.
INJURIES
Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas is nursing a sprained ankle that forced him to miss the last four games. His status moving forward has yet to be determined. DeRozan also dealt with a sore thumb in the final two games of the Heat series, but survived and was able to play two of his better postseason games.
Cleveland had eight days between games and any injury concerns the Cavs may have had likely were tended to during the break.
KEY MATCHUP
LeBron James is rested and ready to face the Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals. At least he won’t have to deal with the subplots and storylines surrounding a matchup with his former team and good friend Dwyane Wade. Now, James can focus on playing basketball in his sixth straight trip to the East finals, and he’s hoping to become the first player since the men of the great Celtics teams of the 1960s to go to six straight Finals.
James is averaging 29.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 6.5 assists in seven previous Eastern finals. Last year he averaged more points, rebounds and assists in the conference finals than any player in any previous playoff series. Statistically, he’s been better in this round over the course of his career than in any other playoff round.
QUICK PICK
The question is just how rested can a team be? The Cavs will answer that on Tuesday night after having an eight-day layoff in between the time they swept Atlanta until opening the Eastern Conference finals. They had a similar layoff between rounds one and two, opening the second round with sluggish performance before rallying to beat the Hawks. At this point of the year, the time off is welcomed and the Cavs should have no problem getting into a groove.
Toronto comes off the high of a Game 7 win over Miami on Sunday and enters its first conference final with plenty of mileage after going the distance in each of the first two rounds. On the upside, the Raptors are getting fine play from DeRozan and Lowry, the duo that needs to carry them. But, with Valanciunas doubtful, a third option is missing. In the end, that costs Toronto in a Game 1 loss.
NBA Odds: Cleveland 107, Toronto 98
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