The Cavaliers will win if: Kyrie Irving continues his ridiculous shooting from 3-point range (53.8 percent during the playoffs); someone outside the Cavs’ big three of Irving, LeBron James and Kevin Love scores in double figures each game; and the Cavs keep even with the Raptors in the rebounding category. The 7-footer is still recovering from a sprained right ankle sustained in Game 3 against the Heat, and his loss damages Torontos depth and rebounding.
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The Raptors are coming off from two straight seven-game series as they were nearly eliminated by the Paul George-led Indiana Pacers and now, barely escaping the unsafe Heat squad led by Dywane Wade. Currently, in the playoffs, Cleveland is unbeaten after sweeping the Detroit Pistons in the first round and the Atlanta Hawks in the second.
“We never doubted Kyle and DeMar”.
It’s all new to Lowry, one of Toronto’s All-Star guards, and the Raptors.
Kyle Lowry might believe that LeBron James is second to Steph Curry when it comes to individual talent, but Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey is prepared to make no such statement, about either the players or their respective teams.
Meanwhile, Valanciunas may not return until Game 3 in the series. The outstanding backcourt duo of the Raptors is averaging at least 20 points and five boards in the postseason.
Before practice, the Cavs broke down some game tape of the Raptors, who are enjoying the greatest season in their franchise’s history and don’t want it to end anytime soon. The 6-foot, 8-inch forward averaged just 11 points in the regular season as he only played 26 games due to a knee injury. “I had great people supporting me throughout my struggles”, Lowry said.
Lowry said at Tuesday’s shootaround that there was no intent to disparage James.
The Cleveland-Toronto victor will take on the victor of the Western Conference finals between the Warriors and Oklahoma City in the National Basketball Association finals. I for one am extremely excited to see what our underdog Toronto Raptors can do on this big stage. “That’s why you play the game”.
The Cavs are being led on the court again by LeBron James, but he is leading in different ways. First off, they’re obviously a much better and more talented team.
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Ultimately, though, the streaking Cavs are on a mission to finish what they started last season, when injuries to Love and Irving cost them a real shot to beat Golden State in the NBA Finals. Teams that got more days off than their opponent did not do better than expected in these Game 1s, in terms of their expected point margins; any benefit of extra rest wasn’t statistically significant.
