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Key: Beasts of the East
Everyone throughout the NBA knows that you want to be playing your best basketball heading down the regular season's homestretch as you approach the Playoffs. And with the Wine & Gold's 98-87 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Easter Sunday, the Cavs have quietly won eight of their last nine games.
Another key factor for getting Playoff-ready - along with health - is to keep your competition juices flowing while continuing to remain sharp in all facets of the game. The Cavs upcoming schedule should provide that edge as Cleveland is set to face three straight Playoff-bound teams from the Eastern Conference, beginning with the current top-seeded Toronto Raptors in a Tuesday tussle at The Q.
Both sides will deny any talk of a "statement game" but each squad is aware of their recent history together as well as what is at stake in the months ahead. Couple that with the fact these two beasts of the East recently met less than two weeks ago (March 21) at The Q, and we may be in store for a regular season classic on the corner of Huron and Ontario tonight.
The Wine & Gold were victorious in that most recent matchup as LeBron James (35 pts, 7 rbs, 17 asts) and Kevin Love (23 pts, 12 rbs) led the Cavs to a comeback victory to even the season series at one apiece. The Raptors would love nothing more to avenge that loss and take Tuesday's rubber match while inching themselves closer to securing homecourt advantage throughout the Eastern half of the Playoff bracket.
Key: Dino-Might
At age 33, LeBron James might just be having his best season as a pro – and the four-time MVP has been on an absolute tear since the start of February.
After posting his 17th triple-double of the season on Sunday (16 pts, 13 rbs, 12 asts), LBJ is averaging 29.8 points (.540 FG%), 10.1 rebounds and 10.2 assists in 37.8 minutes over the last 25 games (Since February 7). As mentioned, in their March 21st win over Toronto, James (35 pts, 17 asts, 0 TOs) became the first player to record 35+ points, 15+ assists and zero turnovers in any game (including playoffs) since the NBA started recording turnovers in 1977-78.
It seems that every game you can find a historical stat in which the King could accomplish, and Tuesday is no different. LBJ (428 30-pt games, 941 20-pt games) can tie Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (429 30-pt games) for the fifth-most 30-point games in NBA history and pass Kobe Bryant (941 20-pt games) for the third-most 20-point outings ever. James (1,861 stls, 30,898 pts) is also one steal away from passing Isiah Thomas (1,861 stls) for sole possession of 16th place on the NBA’s all-time steals list and 102 points shy of 31,000 for his career.
Although it will likely be a pack of Raptors looking to stop LeBron from making history, the majority of that task on Tuesday will fall on rookie forward OG Anunoby. Anunoby, known more for his defensive prowess, ranks eighth among rookies with a .360 (64-for-178) three-point field goal percentage and has scored in double figures nine times in 56 games as a starter this season.
Key: Jurassic Perk
It’s been over a quarter of a century since an Eastern Conference squad has filled it up like the Raptors have this campaign. The last East team to average at least 112.0 points per were the 1991-92 Indiana Pacers. Toronto enters Tuesday's showdown averaging 112.3 points per game.
The main reason Toronto can score in bunches is because of their explosive, All-Star backcourt combo of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry. Although both players’ scoring numbers are actually down this season, their assist numbers have taken a jump – an indication that the Raptors have built a better team around them. The Raptors currently rank sixth in the NBA in assists per game (24.2). Lowry leads the team averaging 6.8 assists, while DeRozan is averaging a career-high 5.2 dimes a night.
In their most recent visit to The Q, Lowry recorded a team-high 24 points on 7-10 (.700) shooting, knocking down a game-high 6-9 (.667) three-pointers, a team-high seven assists and four rebounds in 33 minutes while DeRozan contributed 21 points, five assists and three rebounds in 35 minutes.
With George Hill (left ankle sprain) out and Kyle Korver's (right foot soreness) status still questionable, the Wine & Gold will rely on their backcourt depth of Jose Calderon, Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson and JR Smith to check Toronto's dynamic duo.
Swish had a strong performance off the bench on Sunday, tallying 15 points (6-11 FG, 3-6 3FG) and four rebounds in 26 minutes of work. Over the last three games, Smith is averaging 14.0 points on .615 (16-26) shooting, including .545 (6-11) from deep, and 3.7 boards in 25.7 minutes.
Clarkson finished with 16 points (5-9 FG, 6-7 FT) and three steals in 25 minutes on Sunday, marking the 18th time in 23 games as a Cavalier that J.C. has scored in double figures.
Key: Big Bang Theory
After a litany of injuries, the Cavaliers frontcourt is finally healthy - knock on wood - and patrolling the paint.
During their current six-game home win streak, the Wine & Gold have outrebounded their opponents by 9.5 boards (46.2-36.7) during that span. On Sunday, Cleveland outrebounded Dallas, 50-38, which was the 10th time this season having an advantage of at least +10 on the glass (10-0 record).
Kevin Love posted his 400th career double-double against the Mavs on Easter (13 pts, 13 rbs). As previously mentioned, KLove also recorded a double-double in the March 21st win over the Raptors (23 pts, 12 rbs). In 2017-18, Love now has 30 double-doubles, his eighth time reaching that mark in a single season (fifth straight).
Along with Love, Tristan Thompson has been doing his duty down low, recording four double-digit rebounding games in his last six contests since returning from a leg injury on March 23. T.T. is averaging 9.5 boards in 17.5 minutes in that span.
Cleveland will need all of their bigs to bring their hardhats on Tuesday against the Raptors formidable frontcourt of Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas.
Valanciunas is the only player in the NBA averaging at least 12.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in 25.0 minutes or fewer this season. The large Lithuanian has scored at least 13 points in each of the last five games (March 21-31); averaging 16.4 points (tied for second on the team) and 8.8 rebounds during that span.
Ibaka is tied for 15th in the NBA in blocks per game (1.28) and the Raptors are a perfect 7-0 this season when he scores at least 20 points.
Key: The 6ix Men
The Wine & Gold hold a 16-6 record against the Raptors since December 2014 (includes Playoffs). Additionally, the Cavs are also 9-1 in the last 10 home games against the Raptors (includes Playoffs).
Some have pin-pointed the Cavs' recent success - particularly in the postseason - against the Raptors to Toronto's lack of depth. This season, the Raptors' reserves appear to be one of their biggest strengths.
In the Raptors' convincing win against the Wine & Gold back on January 11 at the Air Canada Centre, it was the Raptors’ bench that did most of the damage with four players netting double-figures as the second unit combined for 76 points in the victory. In the two squad's most recent contest on March 21, Toronto once again got big production from their young reserves – with Jakob Poeltl, Fred VanVleet and Delon Wright combining for 45 points.
Fortunately for the Wine & Gold, their bench has been rock-solid all season long. In their most recent win on Sunday, the Cavs' bench combined for 45 points led by Jordan Clarkson with 16 points.
Needless to say, the bench battle will be a key factor in deciding Tuesday's outcome.