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Cleveland came out flat through most of the first quarter in Game 1, but turned it on in the second en route to a dominating victory over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night. The Cavaliers ended up outplaying the Raptors in every way and now Toronto needs to go back to the drawing board to figure out how to be competitive in Game 2.
NBA Playoff Odds at BookMaker.eu
Toronto Raptors +12.5
Cleveland Cavaliers -12.5
Over/Under 197.5
INJURIES
The Raptors didn’t have Jonas Valanciunas available for Game 1 and it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to play in Game 2. Valanciunas injured his ankle and hasn’t played the last few games while he’s waiting for it to heal.
Without him, the Raptors aren’t the same team and lose a lot of their scoring and rebounding. Toronto needs him back as soon as possible to help the team at the very least protect the rim a bit more than they did in the series opener.
KEY MATCHUPS
Toronto was obliterated on the boards in Game 1 as Cleveland outrebounded them by almost double, a 45-23 margin altogether. Valanciunas was the team’s leading rebounder by a healthy margin this postseason and while Bismack Biyombo had done well in that role against the Heat, he couldn’t do near the same on the glass against the Cavaliers.
No Toronto player pulled down more than four rebounds in the game and that is a huge problem for the Raptors.
It didn’t help matters that Toronto had issues shooting from the floor, particularly star Kyle Lowry who managed to go just 4-of-14 from the field and failed to make any of his seven three-point attempts. He also only had one more assist than turnover and couldn’t get it going against Cleveland’s defense all night.
Lowry hasn’t had a great postseason, but if the Raptors are going to upset the Cavaliers he’ll need to start playing like he did in the regular season.
If Toronto did have a bright spot it was DeMar DeRozan. He was on fire early and went 9-of-17 from the floor to lead Toronto with 18 points. He is the Raptors’ primary shooter and Cleveland will key on stopping him.
It’s hard to imagine the game going better for Cleveland. The Cavaliers were up 22 at half and won every quarter of the game. Better yet, no Cavaliers’ player was on the floor longer than 30 minutes.
Kyrie Irving was the game’s leading scorer with 27 points and looked fantastic the entire game. He was able to beat his defender to the basket for easy buckets and created easy looks for his teammates all night long. This is the Irving that we saw last postseason until he was injured and the one that Cleveland needs to win the NBA Title.
What about LeBron James? James was his usual self, creating his own shots with ease and playing at a whole different level than anyone on the Raptors. King James went 11-of-13 from the field and showed how he is almost unstoppable in the playoffs.
LIVE BETTING SCENARIO
Cleveland dominated this game throughout and all but one member of the regular rotation finished with a +/- over 10. The Cavaliers bench is deep and has size and if they can continue to play like they did in Game 1, it will be a short series.
Look for Toronto to shake things after an awful Game 1. Luis Scola may seem some more time and the Raptors may put out a bigger lineup, but will it have a big impact on the outcome? Cleveland dominated a team about as thoroughly as possible at this point in the season and the Cavaliers are a juggernaut compared to their Eastern Conference brethren.
Should Toronto find a way to lead early or stick close, look to back the Cavs at a readjusted price on the live betting line. Regardless, I expect a similar result to play out in Game 2.
NBA Odds at BookMaker.eu
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