Round 2 Game 1 Toronto Raptors @ Cleveland Cavaliers Mon May 1st 2017 7pm

I am very, very encouraged by what the Cavs are doing with their half-court defense. They have gambled a bit and there have been some breakdowns but they're:

• giving DeRozan a lot of looks, getting the ball out of his hands, and daring him to take open shots from deep

• doubling DeRozan and Lowry (but not always -- LeBron has sometimes taken them on one-on-one)

• encouraged players like JV and Patterson to take open shots but not given as many opportunities to players like Powell

• helped each other and gotten steals by moving into the passing lane. I can only remember one play where two players screwed up and then had to talk about it

• looked coherent, as if they actually have a plan and are trying to execute it.

• blocked out effectively on defense - only two offensive rebounds to 22 defensive rebounds

• have not had to put LeBron on anyone to slow them down, at least not yet.

If they could play a little more disciplined offense to limit the transition opportunities, they would be up 20+.

Oh, yeah, the 2nd team needs more work on defense...but this is a start.

Kyrie isn't hurt. Stop it. Don't make excuses for bad decision making.

K Love playing good D!

InBoobieWeTrust said:

Kyrie is 5-11 with 16 points, 5 assists and 2 steals. You guys really seem to be over-stating his demise.

His shot isn't quite there right this second, and we KNOW he will fix that at some point. If his shot was on he'd prob. be 8-11 for 24 points and 5 assists in the first half.


And oh look, we're up 14 at half. The Raptors made a run. Theyre a talented 50ish win team, and we also missed about 6-8 wide open threes during their run. With good shooters taking them too.

The Cavs look GREAT tonight. LeBron hasn't even turned on beast mode yet.

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I wasn't reading the thread... Were people saying Kyrie looked bad? He's been our best player tonight. Locked in at both ends.

Read through the game thread real quick, and I see a lot of complaining for a game we pretty much dominated from beginning to end.

gourimoko said:

Irving, Lue, and I think RJ said he was hurt; and there was a report in April that he was hurt. He was also held out at the end of the season for his knee.

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Yes, I know about all of that. But it really doesn't seem to be impacting his play.

He didn't look banged up out there today (and I honestly didn't see anything in round 1). So again, why do people keep acting like this is a problem?

shoes22 said:

Read through the game thread real quick, and I see a lot of complaining for a game we pretty much dominated from beginning to end.

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With LBJ not being super aggressive.

The first half was just played at a lightning pace, both Ibaka and Lowry made a lot of shots. They only scored 48. I believe that our first half DRTG is probably a very very good number compared to our usual defensive metrics.

I've never been worried about Ibaka's stretch-4 ness. He's streaky. He'll have some good moments(like 2qtr) but he's also going to miss in bunches at times, and they're really gonna get run off the floor then because he's completely regressed at the things that used to make him special. Didn't block any shots, didn't provide any rim resistance, didn't guard our bigs well outside the paint(they were open as they always are and will be). Only had 1 OREB and missed the bunny afterwards.

He's just not the same guy he used to be in OKC. He's become a better shooter, which keeps him on the court along with his size, but his impact is drastically reduced from the old Ibaka.

The Raptors have a really solid "small-ball" 2nd unit. That unit had a nice run against us tonight where Ibaka was playing against Frye and hit shots at a higher than normal rate. But I stand by my opinion that people are drastically overrating Serge Ibaka.

@gourimoko As an avid Kyrie fan, do you see a change in his shooting form?

Also, Kyrie shouldn't play 12 minute straight with that knee.. Lue should know better.

shoes22 said:

Read through the game thread real quick, and I see a lot of complaining for a game we pretty much dominated from beginning to end.

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Raptors are not allowed to go on any runs.

Patterson basically plays for the Cavs right now. Keep shooting.

jking948 said:

I wasn't reading the thread... Were people saying Kyrie looked bad? He's been our best player tonight. Locked in at both ends.

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Not bad, but he seems to be settling abit. Maybe he's pacing himself, taking what the defense gives him, or we're not watching closely enough.

Double teaming Lowry & Derozan has worked so far since they'er unable to find the open man quickly or they just don't have the shooters to make us pay for that strategy. Solid first half coming off a week's rust.

nm

jking948 said:

I wasn't reading the thread... Were people saying Kyrie looked bad? He's been our best player tonight. Locked in at both ends.

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Locked in? I'm hoping he gets in a defensive stance still. But defense is a different discussion. He rarely gives max effort on that end even when he is healthy.

He's barely left the ground the whole game. Still has no lift on his jumpshot. He's settling, not attacking as much as he should. The guy tried a left handed floater from the FT line when he clearly could have taken a jumper. Explain that one...