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Six Things We Learned from the Raptors-Cavs: LeBron is King, The Raps are close and the DeRozan-Lowry show rolls on

By Justin Robertson

May 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey talks to his team during a timeout in the third quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game five of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 116-78. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
May 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey talks to his team during a timeout in the third quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game five of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 116-78. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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A six-game winning streak and stellar form wasn’t enough for the Toronto Raptors to topple the reigning NBA Champions at home Monday night.

But all things considered, the Raptors are purring along at 14-7 and are the second best team in the East. Against Cleveland this season they lost their three encounters by 4-pts, 3-pts and 3-pts. They’re not getting the job done against the champs, but they’re closing the gap.

"“They have so many situations they put you in that you concentrate on [LeBron] James, and then there’s [Kyrie] Irving, and then there’s [Channing] Frye spaced out and then you have to rotate to [Kevin] Love. You have to pick your poison,” said Casey post-game. “When your rotation is out you tag and close out, you have to make sure you’re there. A couple of times we didn’t execute our schemes the way we should with our big lineup and the make you pay.”"

Here are six things we learned about last night’s 116-112 loss in Toronto.

Dec 2, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43) goes up to dunk against the Los Angeles Lakers at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Lakers 113-80. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 2, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43) goes up to dunk against the Los Angeles Lakers at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Lakers 113-80. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

LEBRON STILL THORN IN RAPTORS SIDE

King James racked up 34 points in 42 minutes with eight rebounds, adding seven assists (and in doing so surpassed 5000 career assists at Cleveland). LeBron lead the Cavs to their 14th win and snapped their three-game losing streak. They now sit on top of the East at 14-5. But as if the Raptors needed to hear it, LeBron told media, beating the Raptors has become a tough ask in recent times.

"“They’ve had our attention for the last couple of years,” he told ESPN. “You don’t need them playing well, us not playing well, or us playing well, them not playing well to get their attention. I think it’s there.”"

CLEVELAND TURNS IT ON IN THE THIRD QUARTER

The Cavs out-muscled Toronto 28-20 in the third quarter which gave the Wine and Gold a handy 90-81 lead in an otherwise tight encounter. The Raptors made 35 per cent of their error-filled shots in the third which lead to the 9-point deficit. The Cavs were able to tighten up their defense and  heap pressure at the Raptors at the arc, forcing turnovers or unnecessary mistakes. But the third was a defining moment for the Cavs as they seized control of the game, something they’ve been able to do during their three encounters this season and reminiscent of what we saw in the 2015 playoffs.

"“They know how to win,” DeRozan told the News Herald . “Throughout the whole game they understand when they have to turn it up on both ends, so with that you can’t put yourself in a hole deeper than what you are already in, especially against this team. You know they are the champions.”"

RAPTORS RANKED NO.2

Believe what you want from power rankings, but before last night’s game against the Cavs, the Raptors were billed as the no.2 NBA team according to Mark Stein.

"“The Raps, not surprisingly, now sport the East’s most robust average nightly point margin, but that’s also because the defense has tightened up considerably (94.1 PPG allowed during the six-game winning streak vs. 105.3 in Toronto’s first 14 games),” he wrote."

He’s right, the defense has tightened up but after tonight, they have things they still need to work on to be able to defeat the giants of the NBA.

BY THE NUMBERS

Here are some intriguing and important numbers from last night’s game for you to consider:

  • REBOUNDS: The Cavs reeled in 48 rebounds (28 to Love and Thompson combined) to the Raptors 33. The likes of Valanciunas (10), Patterson (9) and Nogueira (3) weren’t able to compete with the Cavs big men
  • BENCH: The Raptors dominated the bench scoring 39 points (14 Ross, 12 Patterson) while the Cavs piled on 22 from their second unit (s)
  • TURNOVERS: The Cavs scored 14 points off Toronto’s seven errors, and the Raptors forced the Cavs to turn the ball over 17 times resulting in17 points.

THE LOWRY-DEROZAN SHOW

As if you needed reminding how good Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan are, last night they combined for 55 points. Lowry scored 24 points while DeRozan racked up 31 points. These are big game points against the big boys. They’re carrying this team offensively and are arguably one of the best duos in the NBA.

OTHER THINGS

  • Patrick Patterson scored 12 points, grabbed nine rebounds. Toronto was +17 during his 30 minutes playing time, according to NBA Raptors
  • Kevin Love notched his13th double-double in Toronto, scoring 28 points and grabbing 14 rebounds
  • DeRozan tied Morris Peterson for the most appearances in Raptors’ history with his 542nd game in Toronto colors on Dec. 5.
  • If you want to know why the Raptors wore blue warm-up shirts, here’s why:  it was part of the third annual Giants of Africa Night, honouring the legacy of the late South African president Nelson Mandela. Hence the “1” and words “Mandela” on the back.
Dec 5, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) grimaces as he sits on the bench during a time out against Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Cleveland won 116-112. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) grimaces as he sits on the bench during a time out against Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Cleveland won 116-112. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

The next three games for the Toronto Raptors: the Timberwolves at home, Celtics in Boston and Bucks at home.

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