Recap: Cavs 115, Raptors, 84 (Or, Rest Outweighs Rust)

It was the ultimate battle of rest versus rust as the Cleveland Cavaliers hosted the Toronto Raptors last night in game one of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavaliers have had nine days of rest and relaxation since disposing of the Atlanta Hawks, and had played the minimum possible eight games totaling 384 minutes this postseason. Meanwhile, the Raptors had played the maximum of 14 games, and had logged a whopping 687 minutes en route to the franchise’s first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Would the Cavaliers’ fresh legs be enough to run a tired Raptors squad out of the building, or would the Raptors be able to take advantage of the rhythm they had found against the Miami Heat? Would  the Cavaliers struggle to find a rhythm of their own after so much time off? These questions were on everyone’s mind as the two teams tipped off last night.

First Quarter

LeBron called on the crowd for cheers just before the tip, and for once the Cavaliers won the jump ball. There was a bit of rust as the Cavaliers had a pair of early turnovers that led to a 7-0 start for the Raptors. The Cavaliers began to get their flow going on offense as Toronto elected to sacrifice DeMarre Carroll by having him guard LeBron James one-on-one, but a hot DeMar DeRozan and some poor defense from the Cavs kept the Raptors ahead. James began guarding DeRozan after the timeout, and the Cavaliers went on a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game. The Cavs put Smith back on DeRozan, and he subsequently hit a pair of jumpers to briefly put Toronto back on top. LeBron was replaced e by Richard Jefferson with two minutes left, but the Cavs were still able to get stops, and Kyrie Irving put on an offensive show to give the good guys a 33-28 lead after one. The Big three accounted for 28 of the Cavaliers’ 33 points as Irving had 12 and James and Love chipped in eight apiece.

Second Quarter

The Cavaliers went with Matthew Dellavedova, Iman Shumpert, Jefferson, James, and Channing Frye to start the quarter. As Dave McMenamin shared yesterday morning, this lineup had been extremely effective in the postseason. This continued as Frye and Dellavedova hit a pair of threes for the first points of the quarter, giving the Cavs their first double digit lead of the game. Not so coincidentally, Kyle Lowry was off the floor during this run. The Cavs locked in on defense, and Toronto didn’t score for almost three minutes, at which point the Cavaliers had a 14 point lead. The mauling continued as James and Shumpert threw down a pair of monster dunks. Shumpert landed awkwardly on his right need after the second jam, and walked gingerly off the floor and into our fears.

The Raptors finally hit their first field goal with 6:20 left in the quarter, but by then they were down seventeen. The Cavaliers let up a bit on the defensive end, and the Raptors were able to score on four straight possessions to cut a 20-point lead to twelve with three minutes left in the quarter. This run may have been due to fatigue after not playing for nine days, loss of focus, or both. Regardless, Tyronn Lue quickly called time, and apparently whatever he said worked, as the Cavaliers went on an 8-0 to stretch the lead back out to twenty. After a timeout, Toronto ran a bunch of meaningless movement off the ball that resulted in a Corey Joseph airball.

Irving responded with an alley-oop to Thompson, and the Cavaliers went into the break leading 66-44. Irving, James, and Love had already combined for 42 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists, and the Cavaliers shook off their rust to the tune of shooting 66.7% from the field. They also held the Raptors to just 2-of-16 from three, which was a major reason Toronto went from shooting 54% after the first quarter to 44% at the half.

Third Quarter

The Raptors started the second half by scoring six quick points to cut the lead to sixteen. Once again, Tyronn Lue quickly called time out, but this time it took a few plays before the Cavs got going again. Kevin Love was called for a (ridiculous) flagrant one for spitting into Patrick Patterson, who sank one of two freebies with his wee beady eyes. Then LeBron James converted the And-1, and a Kythree bounced in to push the lead back to twenty-one.

LeBron then took over, drawing a shooting foul that forced Carroll to the bench, and taking a steal coast-to-coast to give the Cavs a 24-point lead. Things began to get physical as James was called for an offensive foul against DeRozan, and then another against Lowry, before a spat of turnovers by the Raptors led to some hard fouls by Biyombo. At this point, James, Love, and Irving had tied the Raptors at 63 apiece by themselves, which pretty much tells you how this game was going. The Cavs kept pouring it on, and a three by Frye gave the Cavaliers a 95-67 lead heading into the final frame.

Fourth Quarter

The Cavaliers started the fourth quarter with a lineup of Dellavedova, Shumpert, Jefferson, Frye, and Thompson. Terrence Ross and Corey Joseph tried—rather unsuccessfully—to push the pace and get quick buckets for the Raptors, and the Cavs were unable to get much going offensively, and a bit of a brick fest ensued.

Mo Williams took Thompson’s place for his first appearance in a while. Not long after, Timofey Mozgov took the place of Frye. If nothing else, it was good to see both players get some minutes as they would likely be the first two called upon in an emergency. At one point, the announcers were so bored, they spent time discussing the SportsCenter crew sitting courtside. Dahntay and James Jones—no relation—got in for the last five minutes, and the Cavaliers still outscored the Raptors in the fourth, finishing with a 115-84 victory.

Things I Noticed

J.R. Smith struggled with guarding DeMar DeRozan early, but to his credit, he kept battling. After making his first five shots, DeRozan made just four of his next twelve, and finished with 18 points on 17 shots – the kind of inefficient shooting that will kill the Raptors in this series.  Jeff Van Gundy praised Smith’s defense after the game, much like Reggie Miller did in the Hawks series.  J.R., not known as a plus defender, has been solid throughout the playoffs.

Kyrie Irving isn’t afraid of the moment. He’s been amazing on offense throughout the playoffs, and has stepped up his defense as well. Kyle Lowry is a great player, who deserved to start the All-Star Game this year, but Irving thoroughly outplayed him. For the Raptors to have any chance to win a game, Lowry has to be at least the second best player on the floor. If he’s not, this series will be over quickly.

Tristan Thompson versus Bismack Biyombo was a battle within the battle. The thing is, both men seemed to cancel each other out. Biyombo was better offensively, and Thompson won the battle on the glass, but neither seemed to make much of an impact on the game and both had some of the worst plus-minus numbers for the rotation players on their respective teams. This just might be the kind of series where neither player is able to shine.

The Raptors were walking a fine line. Biyombo is their enforcer, and it could be argued that he was protecting his team. On the other hand, he is a flagrant two away from a suspension. If that happened, who would the Raptors play at center? Luis Scola? Lucas Nogueira? That would undoubtedly be a disaster.

This was a beatdown. Unless the Raptors make some drastic changes quickly, their series will be over by the beginning of next week. Toronto has proven to be able to come back and fight through adversity before, but in this case, the Cavaliers may just be too good for it to matter.