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Toronto Raptors: 5 Keys To Playing The Cleveland Cavaliers

By Justin Rowan

May 11, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) celebrates his basket with point guard Cory Joseph (6) and point guard Kyle Lowry (7) against the Miami Heat in game five of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Heat 99-91. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
May 11, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan (10) celebrates his basket with point guard Cory Joseph (6) and point guard Kyle Lowry (7) against the Miami Heat in game five of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Heat 99-91. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 8, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) calls for a jump ball after tying up Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroder (not shown) at the end of game four of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. The Cavaliers won 100-99. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
May 8, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) calls for a jump ball after tying up Atlanta Hawks guard Dennis Schroder (not shown) at the end of game four of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. The Cavaliers won 100-99. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Let anybody not named LeBron James beat you.

While he may no longer be the MVP or consensus best player in the game, LeBron James is still a terror and can swing a playoff series on his own. Unlike last season, he is healthy and playing some of his best basketball in years.

The Raptors cannot let him take over the series if they want to stay competitive.

Outside of Kawhi Leonard, there may not be a player better suited to guard LeBron than DeMarre Carroll. Carroll has the size and strength to stick with James and make him work for his buckets. Turning James into a jump shooter has always been the most effective way to limit his game.

So far in the playoffs James has been shooting 47.7 of his shots within three feet of the basket. He is getting to the rim with more purpose than ever before in his career.

While getting the ball out of James’ hands and forcing Irving, Love or anybody else to beat you is the right approach to take, it’s been one of the reasons the Cavs have had so much success in these playoffs.

James is currently passing on 41.1 percent of his drives, up from 30.1 percent last year and 25.7 percent in his final season in Miami. He’s trusting his teammates more than ever before and the rest of the Cavs are following his lead.

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So while you want him giving up the ball, you can’t allow those passes to come off of penetration and allow the Cavs to have drive-and-kick opportunities. Carroll must stop him from getting into the paint and force him into jump shots or cycling the ball on the perimeter.

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