The Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers are two very different teams. Toronto wins with defensive effort and a fast-paced offense that benefits from forced turnovers and fastbreak opportunities. Cleveland, on the other hand, has a deadly half-court offense and a prolific scoring backcourt.
The Raptors' best chance to keep this series competitive is to “get on the glass, get out in transition, and run,” as Tim Bontemps put it on ESPN’s The Hoop Collective yesterday. If the series is decided in the halfcourt, the Raptors will struggle to match the Cavs’ ability to create offense, especially if their threes aren’t falling.
There is one problem that could affect the Raptors’ ability to push the pace, though: Immanuel Quickley’s availability. While the Raptors have several fast, athletic players, including Scottie Barnes, who can push the pace, Brian Windhorst cited Quickley’s availability as a deciding factor on The Hoop Collective.
“One asterisk is that Immanuel Quickley is day-to-day with a hamstring injury,” Windhorst said. “He’s obviously a very important player and obviously affects the speed at which they play. Whether he can play and, additionally, his level of play will be a key to look forward to in that game.”
Playing without Quickley will affect more than the Raptors’ pace
Pace is a big issue, but the Raptors may be able to work around Quickley’s injury issues in that area by trusting Scottie Barnes to push the ball in transition and create opportunities for his teammates. Quickley’s 3-point shooting and gravity as a floor spacer will be much more difficult to replace.
Jamal Shead is the Raptors’ best playmaker off the bench, and he offers stronger perimeter defense than Quickley, but he is not a 3-point threat. Ja’Kobe Walter shot the three incredibly well during the regular season and especially over the last 15 games of the season. However, the Cavs may dare the youngster to prove that he can do the same in the playoffs.
If Quickley isn’t playing at all or not a lot, it will be easier for the Cavs to crowd the paint and try to keep players like Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, or Collin Murray-Boyles away from the rim.
As of now, Quickley is listed as questionable, which suggests that he will be limited if he plays. Even a limited Quickley can space the floor and dish out some passes, though. We likely won’t know if he will play until much closer to the game.
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