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Key: Preserving Perfection
On Saturday night, the Cavaliers take their historic Playoff run north of the border, where they expect to meet some serious resistance at the Air Canada Centre – an arena from which they haven’t left with a win this season.
The Cavaliers ran their 2016 Playoff win streak to 10 on Thursday night at The Q, becoming the first Eastern Conference team to win their first 10 games of the postseason. The Wine and Gold have also now won 17 straight Eastern Conference Playoff games dating back to last year – the longest streak within a team’s own conference in league history – and haven’t dropped a game of any kind since April 13.
These are all encouraging numbers, but the Cavaliers know they have a long way to go, beginning with Game 3 in Toronto, where the Raptors went 32-9 during the regular season and are 6-2 in the Playoffs.
On Thursday night, the Cavaliers went back to their Game 1 formula – eschewing the long-ball for a dominant paint presence while taking away Toronto’s explosive All-Star point guard, Kyle Lowry. The Wine and Gold have been able to empty their bench in both contests while holding the Raptors below 90 points in each of the first two wins.
The North promises to be geared up for Saturday night’s pivotal contest – knowing that no NBA team has ever overcome an 0-3 hole to win a series.
Key: Homecoming King
If Toronto big man, Jonas Valanciunas is unable to go again on Saturday night – and reports suggest that he won’t – the Raptors will once more be without their best third scoring option on the offensive end and their rim protector on the other.
With the fifth-year center on the shelf through the first two games, the Cavaliers have shot 53 percent from the floor, have outscored the Raptors in the paint, 106-64, and have outrebounded them, 91-61.
Bismack Biyombo came back down to Earth in Game 2 at The Q, finishing with three points, five boards and a pair of blocks. In his defense, Biyombo’s been Toronto’s energy guy off the bench this season and is being thrust into a tough position in the ECF.
Tristan Thompson – making his Playoff debut back in his hometown – grabbed a dozen boards in Thursday’s contest and has now snagged double-digit rebounds in three of his last four games. Unlike last year’s postseason run, the Big Three are picking up almost all of the scoring slack, allowing Tristan to clean up the glass and patrol the paint. Through the first two games, he’s done exactly that and, after bombing out the Hawks in the previous round, the Cavaliers have shifted their focus onto the interior.
Key: Power-Point Presentation
Through two games of the Eastern Conference Finals, Kyrie Irving hasn’t slowed down one bit. So far, it’s been a different story for Kyle Lowry.
On Thursday night, Kyrie tallied a game-high 26 points, going 12-for-22 from the floor to go with four boards, three helpers and a steal – topping the 20-point mark for the ninth time in 10 postseason contests. He’s assumed the role of Cleveland’s top scorer in the Playoffs at 24.8 points per, 4th among all players still active in the tournament. The three-time All-Star has shot an even 50 percent from long-distance – going 29-of-58 from beyond the arc.
Things haven’t gone quite as well for Lowry, who came off a scorching end to the previous series against Miami and has gone frigid through the first two games against Cleveland. So far in the ECF, this year’s All-Star starter at the point has tallied a combined 18 points, shooting 29 percent from the floor, including just 1-for-15 from beyond the arc, while committing nine turnovers in the two losses.
None of that matters if Lowry gets heated up, and if any club knows what that looks like, it’s Cleveland. He led both teams with 27 points as Toronto topped the Cavs back on November 25, doubled-up with 23 points and 10 assists at The Q on January 4 and went off for a career-high 43 points in a late-February matchup – going 15-for-20 from the floor while still managing to hand out nine assists.
Key: Royal Treatment
For Cavalier fans who’ve watched LeBron James labor through a Playoff run, it’s been almost unusual to see the King not have to do all of the heavy lifting. But instead of pummeling an opponent with one big scoring night after another, LeBron’s done a little bit of everything through the 10-game postseason streak.
Thursday’s win was Exhibit A – with LeBron notching his first triple-double of the current postseason and 15th overall (2nd in NBA history behind only Magic Johnson). In the Game 2 victory, James finished with 23 points – going 7-for-13 from the floor and 9-for-17 from the stripe, adding a game-high 11 assists (four more than the Raptors starting five combined). He also posted his 19th straight game of at least 20 points, the longest active streak in the NBA.
Through the first two games, the 12-time All-Star has gone 18-for-26 from the floor. When he notched his 19th point of the night, he surpassed former teammate Shaquille O’Neal for fourth on the NBA’s all-time Playoff scoring list.
After taking just four free throws in Game 2, LeBron made 17 trips to the line in Game 2, consistently attacking the rim and kicking to the open man when Toronto packs the paint.
Key: DeMar DeRollin'
If there’s been a bright spot for the Raptors through the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals, it’s been the play of shooting guard DeMar DeRozan.
At an even 20.0 ppg, DeRozan leads Toronto in scoring in the postseason – and he’s been right on that mark against Cleveland in back-to-back contests, averaging 20.0 points per.
On Thursday night, the sixth-year guard got his squad off to a good start, netting 16 points before intermission. But it was a different story in the second half, when the Cavaliers held him to just 2-of-5 shooting.
On the other side, J.R. Smith has had a relatively quiet postseason on the offensive end. But like any player on a legitimate title contender, the 12-year veteran has sacrificed his shooting numbers in lieu of locking down his opponent – something he’s done routinely during the regular season and has continued through the first 10 games of the Playoffs.
But even with that focus on the defensive end, Smith had his stroke working well on Thursday night, finishing 4-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc for 12 points. And anyone who’s watched Cavaliers basketball over the past two seasons knows that there’s no player who can get scalding-hot quicker than the man they call “Swish.”