3 burning questions Raptors must answer amid playoff push

1. Can they overtake the Cavaliers?

The Cavaliers were rolling early in the season, as the combination of Rookie of the Year frontrunner Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in the frontcourt and All-Star Darius Garland in the backcourt proved too much for some Eastern Conference teams to handle. In the span of a few weeks, that’s completely changed.

Allen has been inactive due to a finger injury while Caris LeVert played just four games before missing a few weeks with a foot ailment. The Cavs have gone 4-7 in their last 11 games, opening up a space for Toronto to potentially leap over them in the standings if they stay hot.

Can the Toronto Raptors overcome the Cavaliers?

Cleveland has beaten Toronto three times this season. However, those wins aren’t very impressive. The first was a one-point win in Toronto with Sexton in the lineup, the second victory was against a Raptors team playing eight total players and four 10-day contracts due to COVID-19. Anunoby and Fred VanVleet both missed an eight-point win last week.

The Raptors and Cavaliers haven’t really given each other their best shots this season, which could set the stage for a furious race to the No. 6 seed. Missing out on that spot is not the end of the world, but it will be a tad disappointing.