If the Toronto Raptors wanted to reach the first NBA Finals in franchise history, there was really no chance they were ever going to avoid LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at some point in these Eastern Conference playoffs.
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James has been to six straight NBA Finals so Mahabier has a point but anything can happen in the playoffs.
The Raptors were exhausted. Fast-forward to 19 days later and they’re back. The final buzzer had barely sounded against Miami, and suddenly they were in Cleveland, facing a daunting task against LeBron James and the rested Cavaliers. Will the extra days off help James and Cleveland or will the time off slow down their momentum? “It’s not an excuse”. “I’d rather have this than what we had past year – jumping on a plane with one day’s practice and going through their personnel, their sets, their plays and what we want to do with them”.
The Raptors are 1-11 all time in Game 1 of playoff series.
The Celtics came away with a 104-95 win to tie the series at 2-2.
James backed out of the end of the regular season sitting out the final two games and assuring himself of a five-day reprieve in order to get the rest he knew he would need if the Cavs had any chance of defending their National Basketball Association title. They open the conference semifinals on Monday at Quicken Loans Arena. Three heavyweight teams square off today, and Toronto will be playing as well. “It definitely helped them out, was a good piece for them”, James said of Ibaka, who averaged 12.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.3 blocks during Toronto’s first-round series victory against the Milwaukee Bucks. If he doesn’t put up those numbers, his team doesn’t win, and as you seen over the past years all LeBron is focused on is winning. The improvements on defense to go with this great scoring team should make Toronto a team to watch out for.
What awaits the Raptors, though, is a well-rested and ready Cavaliers squad. Serge Ibaka’s new home at the center position proved to be a smart fix as well.
The Cleveland Cavaliers finally caught a break. Lue was sending different players to defend Paul George.
The same goes for Lowry, Toronto’s bulldog point guard who averaged 6.1 free throw attempts per game in the regular season, which ranked sixth at his position.
“It’s a different year”, said Lowry, who slouched back in his chair, arms crossed, holding the mic.
Unlike the regular season, when brutal travel schedules, back-to-backs and stretches of three games in four nights can wear players down, the postseason allows for recovery. Doesn’t matter what the miles, what the fatigue is. “And to win, you’ve gotta go through the champs”.
“I just think we have to do a good job on both of those guys”, head coach Tyronn Lue said following Sunday’s practice. Irving – who’s now scored at least 20 points in 21 of his last 25 Playoff games – saved his best for last against Toronto past year, finishing with 30 points and a game-high nine assists in the Game 6 clincher north of the border.
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“Adds a veteran, for one, a guy that has experience, Finals experience as well”. But after the conclusion of Game 6 in that series, the Cavs knew exactly who their opponent would be. Cleveland may have swept IN in the first round but looked mightily unimpressive while doing so, struggling to put away the Pacers IN each of the four close wins. “You can see a lot of similarities in their game”. Casey isn’t entirely buying it. They’re the top corner three-point shooting team in the league by a large margin for a reason, because of him. “So, you just try to prepare as much as you can to be able to sustain a high level of play for as long as you can”. The LA Clippers looked like a sure bet to beat the Jazz, but with their top scorer Blake Griffin being injured in Game 3 and out for the rest of the playoffs, it seems very unlikely they’ll be able to pull through. I think a lot of times coaches get sidetracked by what other guys, what the media said or whatever.
