The Cavaliers are rolling through the East easily.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers outclassed their opponent for the 10th straight game in the playoffs, taking a 2-0 lead over the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals with a 108-89 victory.
James had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists as the Cavs became the fourth team in National Basketball Association history to start 10-0 in the playoffs, joining the Los Angeles Lakers (1989, 2001) and San Antonio Spurs (2012).
But while the Cavs are more than halfway to winning a title and ending the city’s 52-year drought in major league sports James isn’t satisfied. I think they’re going to try to protect the paint a little bit more. “We have a goal, and our goal was not nine wins”, James told reporters. “It feels like we won one game, we won the next game”.
Ultimately the game was played at a pace that the Raptors were unable to keep up with. “We will face some adversity”. Cleveland got to the basket with such ease on Tuesday that they didn’t need to rely on a barrage of shots from behind the arc, but if Toronto steps up its interior defense, the Cavs can still win handily by making three-pointers. The Raptors shot just 42.1 percent from the field (32-of-76) and missed 19 of their 24 3-point attempts.
Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan and Bismack Biyombo led the way for the Raptors with 18 points and 12 points, respectively. “When you have two guys like this to help you, it takes a lot of things off you”.
Kyle Lowry, who scored 35 points in the Raptors’ series-clinching win over Miami, was held to just eight as he and the Raptors were roughed up in their first appearance in the conference finals.
The Cavs are 1/50 to win the series and 8/5 to be crowned overall champions while the Raptors are out to 14/1 to win the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals.
The Cavaliers must have feared some rust setting in following a nine-day break since ousting the Hawks. They can not afford to miss many open looks or send the Cavs to the line 37 times.
Kyrie Irving scored 27 points, and James added 24.
Valanciunas was averaging 15 points and 12.1 rebounds per contest before he went down injured in the Miami Heat series. James spent the final quarter on the bench cheering on Cleveland’s reserves.
These are the Cavs at full force, not the version missing Love and Irving in last year’s Finals.
“[Tuesday] they wanted us to be in the paint”, James, who went 11 for 13 from the field n the last game, said. “They trained their bodies all season long to get back to this point and those guys have been spectacular”. James and Kyrie Irving totaled 51 points in 58 minutes of play, shooting a combined 22-of-30. He celebrated the slam by tilting his head, backpedaling and letting out a primal scream along with 20,000 fans. We want to share the ball, move the ball side to side and get our shooters open.
The Raptors came in as overwhelming underdogs, but Casey wasn’t anxious about the stage being too big or his team fearing the Cavs.
After Game 1, a particularly embarrassing 84-115 road loss, it is now clear that for Toronto, this series will be more of an uphill battle than expected. If Cory Joseph and Terrence Ross struggle once again, Game 2 could get ugly.
And that might be the scariest thing of all. Neither Lowry nor DeRozan attempted a free throw on Tuesday. “He can take a game over”, Lue said. He also had five turnovers in the first half alone. “He’s a good young coach, a good person”.
Oddsmakers now make Cleveland 13-point favourites against the Raptors, but the neutrals are hoping to see a competitive contest, which would be a massive upgrade from Tuesday.
9-0, Los Angeles Lakers, 1982 – Pat Riley was in his first postseason, having gotten the job as Lakers coach in an in-season change. Lue, who is unbeaten in the playoffs, is flattered that Lowry calls him a “father figure”.
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“I know what it is when it happens to someone else, but I have no idea what it is when it happens to me”, James said.
