Cleveland Cavaliers get huge Game 1 win over Raptors

The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, 116-105, after a week of  rest.  Will they bring the same energy in Game 2?

I think it’s safe to say that the Cleveland Cavaliers are well-rested.

Game 1 of their 2017 Eastern Conference semifinals series was one of the most complete games I’ve seen this team play in a while. The first thing that stood out was the ball movement. It was fluid and efficient, and the Toronto Raptors didn’t have an answer for it.

The Cavaliers finished with 26 assists.

Kyrie Irving, who might have had the play of the series with an alley-oop pass off the backboard to LeBron James, had a playoff-high of 10 assists. This team just looked completely different in all facets of the game.

They had a quick lapse in the second quarter when the Raptors cut the Cavs’ 18-point lead down to three, but after that, they controlled the tempo of the game and didn’t look back.

This is the team that the NBA and Cavs fans expected to show up. As I’ve said since the beginning of the season with this club, when they have constant ball movement, they are almost unstoppable. When they settle for terrible shot attempts, it leads to turnovers and long rebounds that hurt this team.

The best play of the game was in the third quarter, where the Cavs were passing the ball around the perimeter. James passed it to Tristan Thompson, who had to spin to keep it from going out of bounds, and then he passed it to Kevin Love for the corner three-pointer.

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In Game 2, the Raptors will make adjustments in guarding the passing lanes. The only way a team gives up 26 assist is by poor defense and not playing the lanes correctly.

They already have a tough time guarding against the Cavs’ flex cuts, another thing they will have to worry about. They will have to play under the screens and sets in order to make it tough for Cleveland on the offensive end.

Head coach Dwane Casey could also make another lineup change. Jonas Valanciunas came off the bench for the Raptors last series against the Milwaukee Bucks. He struggled against Thon Maker and Greg Monroe.

Casey then inserted guard/forward Norman Powell. It made them smaller and tougher to guard. He could consider going back to that lineup. Valanciunas finished with six points and six rebounds. Powell finished with 12 points on a tough shooting night, going 3-for-11 from the field.

However, one of the biggest things that stood out to me wasn’t during the game, it’s what TNT analyst and NBA Hall-of-Famer Charles Barkley said about Toronto.

He mentioned how the Raptors will say they can beat the Cavaliers, but do they mentally believe that they can?  I would say the answer is no.  There were times during the game where it was obvious.

For example, in the third quarter after James missed a potential and-one layup on the break, he skipped to the sideline, took a beer from a vendor, faked a sip and gave it back to her.  What was the Raptors response?

Nothing.

They went on a 19-3 run to start the fourth quarter, but the game was already in hand, and Casey had thrown up the white flag by emptying his bench. Most teams would give a hard foul, or let that them know that they didn’t appreciate the act, but the Raptors were fine with it.

It goes back to what Barkley said. The Raptors say the right things, but they know they’re overmatched.

The Cavaliers are on a mission to become two-time NBA champions, and unfortunately, Toronto is facing them at their peak. They took the Cavs to six games in the Eastern Conference Finals last season, but this is a different year.

Game 2 will be interesting. If the Raptors make adjustments and play tough, I can see them winning one game, and losing the series in five, but if they come out and get embarrassed as they did in Game 1, the Cavaliers might sweep them.

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It’s put-up or shut-up time for Toronto.