The Toronto Raptors loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night puts the one-seed back in question and makes a showdown with the Boston Celtics even more important.
The race for the number one-seed just got a little more interesting on Monday night. The Toronto Raptors are losers of back-to-back games, four of their last six, and now have turned what figured to be a benign finish to the season, into five game thriller.
Tuesday’s loss to the Cavaliers was perhaps the most disappointing of the bunch. Cleveland has won their past two games against Toronto and the bully of the East is seemingly gaining more confidence with each passing day.
The game started off well, Toronto big-men Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka were aggressive to start and as a result scored the game’s first seven points. The two combined for 16 points in the opening frame on 7-11 shooting.
But the Cavs had a first quarter weapon themselves. With George Hill missing the game due to an ankle injury, 36 year-old Jose Calderon started and scored 11 first-quarter points on perfect 5-5 shooting. After one-quarter, the Cavs were up four.
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Things did not improve for the Raptors in the second quarter. Offensively the team played fine, shooting 48-percent from the field and scoring 26 points as a team. Defensively, however, they looked all out of sorts. The Cavaliers shot lights out from the three-point line hitting 5-8 from beyond the arc, thanks in large part to Kevin Love who found his groove hitting 3-4 from downtown himself.
During the third quarter the Raptors found some semblance of a defense. The Cavs shot only 42-percent from the field and hit only 29-percent of their triples. Unfortunately for Toronto, the Raptors also struggled to score during the third quarter. DeMar DeRozan and Jonas Valanciunas each scored seven points, but as a whole the team shot just 43-percent. The two teams played an even third quarter, and the Raptors trailed by eight heading into the fourth.
The fourth was more of the same. Toronto stayed within striking distance at all times, often cutting the lead to just a couple of scores but never truly threatened the Cavaliers. Toronto dropped another game to Cleveland and now the team will undoubtedly hear it’s toughness and playoff abilities questioned.
For good reason as well. The Raptors have not played well since their Sunday loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and if the team once again flames out in the playoffs the entire feel good season will seem hollow.
Individual Performances
Individually, the Raptors were led by their big-men. Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka both played well, with each player recording a double-double. Serge was able to score 16 and grab 12 rebounds, while JV put up 17 and 10 of his own. The two both had a plus-minus of -13 and -10 respectively, but that was due in large part to matching minutes against the Cavaliers star LeBron James.
While the Raptors starting front court played particularly well, the team’s point guard did not. Kyle Lowry shot 2-11 from the field, including 1-7 from deep, and turned the ball over as many times as he dished an assist. It was an all-around dreadful performance from Lowry who will receive criticism after attending the college National Championship in San Antonio the night before. (He also attended the Super Bowl and played spectacular the following game, so take it all with a grain of salt.)
The game was a serious blow to the Raptors confidence. The Cavaliers, once again short-handed, beat the Raptors, this time without a super-sayan performance from LeBron James. Yet, it still is just one game in a series Toronto still outscored Cleveland by 25 on the year.
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However you interpreted Tuesday’s loss, once thing is for sure. Wednesday’s showdown with the Boston Celtics just got a lot more interesting.