Raptors vs. Cavaliers, Game 4 – what drawing even would mean
By Brian Boake
The Raptors and Cavaliers know each other very well by now. Can the Raptors continue their revival, or was Game 3 a fluke?
The Toronto Raptors have a chance to tie their Eastern Conference finals series at 2-2 tonight. Having broken the Cleveland Cavaliers 10-game playoff winning streak, the Raptors would dearly love to force a return to the Air Canada Centre for Game 6. But there won’t be one unless Toronto grabs one of the next two games – and I don’t think they can afford to wait until Wednesday’s return to Cleveland.
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Obviously the Raptors want to extend this series for any number of reasons, and here’s another: Jonas Valanciunas is getting better. He’s not playing tonight, and I doubt he’ll be ready for Game 5 (high ankle sprains are a bear to recover from, and there’s little medicine can do to speed healing), but Friday night…maybe.
The Raptors defeated the Cavaliers in convincing fashion on Saturday night, despite a Q4 scoring drought. Both teams should have scored more points, as normally reliable shooters flubbed open looks repeatedly. Toronto got the win because their All-Star backcourt made the shots they had buried most of the regular season, but not in the playoffs, and because Bismack Biyombo was a terror on the boards.
There’s no reason to think that confluence of events was a fluke.
Another Raptor who came up big in Game 3 was point guard Cory Joseph. He had a fine night’s shooting, going 6 for 10, and was a pain defensively. He led the second unit, all of whom ended with positive plus/minus numbers.
While Luis Scola is listed as starting at power forward, I have no idea why. He was invisible in Game 3: no points or rebounds, one lonely assist in 16+ minutes. If Patrick Patterson has such a mental block about being announced that he’s got to come off the bench, try James Johnson as the starter. He’s hardly my favourite player, but he could help establish a defensive tone for the Raptors. I’d like to see JJ pin Tristan Thompson, thus freeing up Bismack Biyombo for more big rebounding numbers.
To my eyes, the key man to shut down among the Cavaliers is J.R. Smith. [Editor’s Note: I’m not implying he’s the most important Cleveland player – LeBron James is, without question. But Smith can be kept quiet if defended tightly. No one’s been able to stop LeBron. The most you can do is tire him out, and keep him out of the paint. If he takes jump shots, the Raptors can live with the results.]
What will be interesting to watch for is the blowback from Dwane Casey’s complaints about the referees and the remarkable number of no-calls on Bis. Will tonight’s crew continue the pattern of calling more fouls on the Raptors than the Cavaliers? Here’s hoping Biyombo gets to the free-throw line a few times.
I think the Raptors have convinced themselves that the Cavaliers are beatable, and that they are the squad which can do it. Knowing they will get JV back if they can extend the series should be all the motivation the Raptors need. Let’s have a Game 6 in front of another raucous Air Canada Centre crowd. To that end, today’s result in advance: Toronto 101-Cleveland 97.