Cleveland Cavaliers: Cooling Off Up North
After dumping cold water on head coach Tyronn Lue following their 10-0 postseason start, it was the Cleveland Cavaliers who went cold in Game 3.
The trip across the border did not go to plan for the Cleveland Cavaliers. After dumping cold water on head coach Tyronn Lue following their 10-0 postseason start, it was the Cavs who went cold in Game 3.
Most notably Kyrie Irving (13 PTS, 3-for-19 FG) and Kevin Love (3 PTS, 1-for-9 FG) struggled to find their rhythm. Only LeBron James (24 PTS, 9-for-17 FG) and J.R. Smith (22 PTS, 7-for-16 FG) made significant scoring contributions.
In Games 1 & 2, the Toronto Raptors allowed the Cavs to punish them close to the basket for fear of giving up a slew of 3-pointers like Atlanta and Detroit before them.
In Game 3, the Cavs attempted as many three-pointers as Games 1 and 2 combined (41) while shooting 34 percent. It was the first time the Cavs were held to less than100 points in the series and they managed just 20 points in the paint compared to 106 in Games 1 and 2.
Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Cleveland Cavaliers
The Raptors scored more comfortably in this game thanks to 16-2 run in the second quarter that masked foul trouble for point guard Kyle Lowry. James noted per NBC Sports Talk:
"“Our second quarter lineup didn’t do a great job of paying attention to detail. They (the Raptors) were able to bust the game open.”"
DeMar DeRozan led all scorers with 32 points on 12-of-24 shooting and the Raptors got solid contributions across the board with Corey Joseph, Patrick Patterson and DeMarre Carroll, who combined for 34 points.
However, it was backup center Bismack Biyombo, filling in for Jonas Valanciunas, who helped define the Raptors’ paint protection.
Biyombo had 26 rebounds (eight on the offensive glass) and four blocks which he punctuated during the Raptors’ second-quarter surge by recovering to swat an Irving drive in semi-transition.
Biyombo celebrated the play with a Dikembe Mutombo style finger wag! The run created the largest deficit, 18 points, the Cavs have faced all playoffs.
Still, no reason to press the panic button in Cleveland; the Cavs are now 10-1 this postseason and Tyronn Lue (per NBC Sports Talk) saw a Raptors team that simply played harder.
"“They were more aggressive. They were more physical. They were more active. They were faster. They beat us to the ball.”"
That should change in Game 4 although credit the Raptors for executing and coming up with a big game for their first outing at home in this series.
Expect Lue to make his adjustments in preparation for Game 4. The Cavs need to defend better and get contributions from Irving and Love after their combined 0-for-9 shooting in the first half.
If they can incorporate more of the team into their offense and neutralize some of the Raptors hustle they will put themselves in a better position to take Game 4 on the road and return to Cleveland with the series under control.
(All box score statistics from basketball-reference.com)