Cavaliers 125 – Raptors 103: Outclassed

After failing to win Game 1 of the series (yet again) the Toronto Raptors follow up performance resulted in another demoralizing defeat at the hands of the Cavaliers.

Duane Casey was forced to make adjustments to the starting line up after game 1. With Norman Powell and Patrick Patterson inserted, Jonas Valanciunas and Demarre Carroll were moved to the bench. From the opening tip it didn’t seem to make much difference. The first play of the game for the Raptors resulted in the ball zipping around the perimeter and landing in the hands of Patrick Patterson. As he drove to the basket Lebron emerged out of time and space to block Patterson’s shot and stare down the Raptors bench and coaching staff. That’s pretty much how the rest of the game went.

Patterson and Ibaka combined to begin the game 1 of 6 for 3 points and none of the Raptors seem to have much going. Valanciunas came in for Patterson quickly and JV brought it off the bench finishing the quarter with 10 points in 5 minutes.

Not out of reach yet

After Q1 the scoreboard read 34 – 22 and the game seemed like it was within reach. Even though the Cavaliers had shot over 70% in the first quarter, even though they had out rebounded the Raptors 13 – 2 and even though the Cavs shot 100% from beyond the arc the game still felt very much within reach. It wasn’t.

Q2 showed more of the same. Cleveland continued their onslaught from deep and the Raptors continued to play catch up. To their credit they hung with Cleveland in the second and entered halftime with a 14 point deficit. The game seemed to be a struggle, but the wheels had yet to totally fall off. Then came the third quarter.

Now it is

As basketball fans know, many times the most crucial minutes of a game can be found immediately following the beginning of the 3rd quarter. This is when you’ve seen a game plan for 24 minutes, your coaching staff has had a small break to make adjustments and motivate and when the third quarter begins you can generally gauge which team thinks the game is theirs by how they begin the second half. The Cavaliers simply came out and stomped on the Raptors chest.

The Raptors allowed Cleveland to put up 37 third quarter points compared to 25 and things only got worse. Kyle Lowry appeared to injure either his knee or his ankle when he collided with Tristan Thompson. To Lowry’s credit he tried to play through it. However late in the fourth quarter and with no end in sight Lowry was subbed out and hobbled off to the locker room. He would finish with 20 points and 5 assists on 7 of 12 shooting for 58% in 29 minutes. DeRozan would end with 5 points on 2 of 11 shooting in 31 minutes. JV led the Raptors with 23 points in 20 minutes and Cleveland now leads the series 2 – 0 and has won those 2 games by a total of 33 points.

Back home, and needing a miracle

Although the Raptors were in a similar position last year to the Cavs down 0 – 2 and heading home, there seems to be less belief surrounding the team this time around. Before the series began it was believed that this Raptors team was better than last years squad, however it doesn’t feel so anymore. The Raptors actually tried in Game 2 and you could see the compete level early on. However, as time ticked by it seemed like the Raptors were accepting their own fate and were just resigning themselves to the sad truth that many fans must be feeling today. Cleveland has a switch and they’ve flipped it, and the Raptors are not in the same class as the defending champs.

Game 3 is set for Friday at 7:00 pm in Toronto and short of a miracle this feels like a potential sweep in the making.