“Everybody takes him for granted,” says Raptors coach Dwane Casey. “He does it so easy. There’s no way an intelligent basketball person would have LeBron not mentioned as an MVP candidate. It’s asinine even to think that way. “They’ve got the best basketball player in the world right now.” “If you want to win one game, you want to win three games, five games, whatever, I think everybody in this league would say, I’m going to take LeBron first, and I’ll build my team from there,” said Cavs guard J.R. Smith. Toronto, in this game, was resting point guard Kyle Lowry, who is their LeBron. It’s a combination of physical and mental toll, according to those who know. He sat for a third straight game. In the first quarter LeBron went out of his way to slap hands with Lowry on the Raptors bench. He must know how it feels.
There are a range of technical elements the Raptors need to tighten up – a number of blown rotations both in the second quarter hurt them as much as anything that happened down the stretch — but just as important is getting ready to scrap and claw, something they showed they still have in their arsenal. Hang on to that and they’ll be okay. “It was huge, the fans were great,” said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey. “It should be a reminder to us. We got back in the game against one of the top teams in the league, that’s what you’re playing for, to play with that kind of emotion and desperation.” The Raptors luxury of the hot start has given them time to sort things out now even as things are going briefly sideways. Entering the game they have a 12-game lead over Brooklyn in the Atlantic Division. Short of something catastrophic, they will win the division. They were 10 games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the top-seed in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors will not be winning the Eastern Conference. The matchups from the second, third or fourth spots don’t seem to matter that much. So as dispiriting as it might be pushing the Cavaliers to the limit only to fall short, the only way it should reverberate is the Raptors let it cloud the big picture. And the big picture is that the Raptors remain on course to enjoy home court in the first round of the playoffs and if they can squeeze out a 12-9 finish, they will become the first team in franchise history to win 50 games. Even 11-10 improves on the franchise record set last season.
Such was Toronto’s lot on Wednesday night at the Air Canada Centre, its 120-112 defeat sealed when too many open looks led to too many three-balls by the visitors, no defence for LeBron James when the King imposed his will in the final quarter. It was the Cavs’ third consecutive win over the Raptors. There’s no such thing as a moral victory in the NBA and, by no means, should the Raptors take any consolation from their effort, especially late in the third quarter and into most of the fourth when they played on the same level as Cleveland. They didn’t win because they weren’t good enough in the first half, late in rotation and not enough offence. When they did elevate their level of play, it wasn’t enough, each run matched by a Cavs play on offence. Naturally, it would be James who initiated most of the action, deferring to teammates or taking over with his offence when he was looking to score.
The Raptors would go on to lose the game, as most expected they would. They were without Kyle Lowry once again, resting an accumulation of bumps and bruises for the third straight contest. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are the Eastern Conference’s hottest team, having won 20 of their last 24 games to move into a virtual tie with Toronto and Chicago for second place. They were outplayed by a better team, playing better basketball with the best player in the game, but they were not outclassed. If there’s a positive to be taken out of their sixth loss in seven games, it’s that. “I was disappointed we got down 19,” Dwane Casey said. “But I was proud of the way our team fought and scrapped. Like I told them, the more we can build on that and the more minutes we can play the way we played, in the desperation mode in the second half [the better].”
The first was Sweet Lou going supernova, as he does from time to time, for 26 points on 7-of-8 shooting (he missed a single two point field goal). Those are numbers from which runs are born. The second came from a single play: Valanciunas tying up Lebron as he drove down the lane for an easy basket. The crowd exploded and momentum charged the other way. (For his part, Valanciunas also had a great game throughout with 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting and 11 rebounds; he even got late fourth quarter minutes.) So, ask a fan as they left the arena if they enjoyed themselves. The Raptors lost by eight points, and looked casually outclassed for stretches as Lebron picked apart the team’s defense and pounded whoever tried to guard him (James Johnson, DeMar DeRozan, Terrence Ross) into submission. He finished with 29 points, 14 assists, six rebounds. And yet, positive vibes. The Raptors went down swinging. They played admirably without their leader Kyle Lowry. They put themselves in a position to win. The game was fun. Lebron James may be inevitable, an unanswerable basketball tsunami that coolly builds in force towards victory. But relentless physics is one thing, emotion another. It doesn’t mean the Raptors (and their fans) shouldn’t attempt to surf the wave. Cowabunga, dude.
James was instrumental in staving off Toronto, scoring 15 of his game-high 29 points in the final quarter. He had another wobbly moment at the free throw line — missing a pair after a flagrant foul by the Raptors’ Jonas Valanciunas and missing five of 13 overall — but his attacking and penetrating game was sharp and decisive. Consecutive three-pointers by James in the final minutes gave the Cavaliers needed breathing room. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out a game-high 14 assists.
Cavs Clip Raptors’ Run, Take Season Series in Toronto | Cleveland Cavaliers
After thumping Boston at The Q the previous evening, Cleveland was cruising again on Wednesday, extending their lead to 19 points early in the third quarter. But Lou Williams caught fire to close the quarter and his teammates followed suit to start the fourth. And at the midway point of the fourth, Terrence Ross’ trey gave the Raptors a brief one-point lead. But less than a minute later James Jones buried his fourth triple of the night, the Cavs eventually pushed their lead to nine and never looked back.
Recap: Cavs 120 Raptors 112 (Or, absorbing the haymakers, going the distance) | Cavs: The Blog
The Cavs, on the second night of a back to back, overcame a hungry team that spent about 10 minutes completely unconscious. It was as gritty a win as the LeBron-Less win over Portland. Kyrie wore the cape in that one, tonight he shared it with LeBron: 29 Points (15 in the 4th quarter) and 14 assists.
But you knew the Raptors run was coming, and come it did. Lou Williams had one of his trademark games where he performs like one of the best reserve guards in the game. He was fouled on two three point attempts and made all six free throws, he went over the top of screens while running the Pick and Roll and nailed three pointers, he had it all going. He had 26 points on 8 shots, which is insane efficiency. He’s one of my favorite players, but it’s not something he does every night. On a night when the Raptors played without Kyle Lowry, he really stepped up. LeBron James, though, wasn’t interested in the Cavs giving this one up. He attacked relentlessly and hit some dagger threes. With the Cavs spacing, the lane really opened up for him. 29 points on 16 shots, 14 assists and just three turnovers, six rebounds. He was incredible, and the Cavs needed every bit of it.
LeBron James sinks Toronto Raptors late comeback effort | Raptors Cage
When you face a team built around 3 all-star players it’s difficult to get stops. With that being said the Raptors did whatever they could to contain LeBron but it simply wasn’t enough. Early on his penetration allowed him to become a distributor, which saw the likes of Love and Timofey Mozgov getting early touches. The real killer for Toronto was looks LeBron was able to create for James Jones who delivered trey after trey after trey after trey (4 if you were counting). If it wasn’t LeBron’s penetration killing the Raptors it was Kyrie in transition using his ability to change speeds breaking down the Raptors defence. A couple of unbelievable LeBron James three-pointers and just like that…the game’s out of reach. Once again…great effort gentleman…great effort.
Observations From Toronto’s Locker Room After They Lost 120-112 To Cleveland
DeMar DeRozan was slumped in his chair. Visibly dejected after the lost. He was staring blankly at the stat sheet. After he returned from his shower he spent a lot of time with a towel draped over his head staring at his locker. Didn’t talk with teammates. Consummate pro while talking with us media grunts even though you could tell he just wanted to go home.
Dwane Casey Will Use Final 20 games To Experiment With Rotations And Plays | Hoops Addict
“We are sneakily doing that. We have been throwing in some plays and some sets. Patrick (Patterson) starting the other night was a semi-experiment. We are going to do some other things. We still got to get our zone in for those situations you may see some of that. The hard thing right now is that there is very little practice time so that time you use in the game is part of your practice. I hate to minimize games like that, but it’s kind of what it is. We are going to be doing some other things like that. At the same time, we want to win. We aren’t going to dismiss that at all. At the end of the day, we want to compete to win, but the number one thing is to try new things and try to get better.”
SIMMONS: LeBron James visit lacks Michael Jordan-type buzz | Toronto Sun
There is none of that similar fascination with LeBron James, legend of this generation, and NBA player who has no equal. He is the most decorated athlete in professional sport this side of Tom Brady, maybe the most important. But the world doesn’t stop for him in Toronto the way it did for Jordan, back when basketball and celebrity seemed so very new. Back then, in the first years of the NBA here, there was no expectation of ever winning much of anything. But Jordan was so special to Toronto, in this city where being there, being seen, always means so much. He was the place to be. He was a show. He was a destination. We loved him and the event, even if we didn’t give much of a hoot about basketball or about a Raptors team not yet on the rise. It has been so very different with LeBron James. His appearances don’t move the needle a whole lot. There is no special buzz in the Air Canada Centre when he’s around. That is partly an indication of the maturing of a basketball market, but also the maturing of the local team. But it’s partly because that first love is rarely replicated as time moves on.
Emo-LeBron courtesy of his Instagram
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