Raptors get reality check vs. Cavaliers as playoff push continues

3 7 minutes read

CLEVELAND – The Toronto Raptors‘ hopes of storming to the playoffs are nice on paper, however the issue once you take it to the wooden is that there are some fairly good groups on the market.

The Raptors are going to see loads of them within the coming weeks. The Chicago Bulls are trying like a distinct staff for the reason that All-Star break – improbably the very best defensive staff within the league (small pattern and all that) – and are all-in on making the play-in a minimum of and go to Toronto Tuesday. The Raptors then have a pair of video games in Washington towards a equally motivated Wizards staff that’s simply behind them within the standings. Then it’s out west for the Denver Nuggets, after which each the Clippers and the Lakers.

And as properly as Toronto has performed just lately and as a lot encouragement the presence of Jakob Poeltl has supplied, profitable video games towards good groups hasn’t been a powerful level this season. They had been 14-24 towards groups with .500 information or higher heading into their Sunday night time go to to Cleveland and so they regarded the half as the Cavaliers beat them in each quarter and for all 4 quarters in a 118-93 drubbing.

The win improved Cleveland to 39-25 a stored them firmly in grasp of a house seed when the playoffs begin whereas the Raptors fell to 30-32 as their season-best four-game profitable streak was halted at 4 video games.

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The Raptors had been taking part in with out second-leading scorer Fred VanVleet who missed his third straight recreation after the beginning of his third little one, and it confirmed.

Positive the Raptors had their hand’s full defensively towards Cleveland as Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland had been capable of get to just about the place they needed, with Mitchell unloading for 35 factors and eight threes on 13-of-21 taking pictures and Garland completed with 18 factors and 11 assists. Helped by Jarrett Allen’s 23 factors on 10-of-13 taking pictures, Cleveland was taking pictures 53.8 per cent from the ground and 17-of-32 from three earlier than rubbish time kicked in with Cleveland main by 30 halfway by way of the fourth quarter.

So Toronto’s defence was a difficulty. However the Raptors’ struggles to attain towards the NBA’s third-ranked defence was an element too. A day after Toronto couldn’t crack the century mark towards the bottom-feeding Detroit Pistons, that the Raptors couldn’t hold tempo with Cleveland offensively is value noting. They had been caught on 85 factors after 42 minutes when the coaches subbed out their respective starters. For the sport Toronto shot simply 30 per cent from the ground and made simply 9 threes.

Pascal Siakam led the Raptors with 25 factors however wanted 24 photographs to do it even after going 4-of-7 from deep, however he had no assist. Scottie Barnes stalled out at 12 factors; Gary Trent Jr. was 2-of-13 and O.G. Anunoby took solely seven photographs in 34 minutes. Poeltl was high-quality, with 13 factors, 9 rebounds and three assists, however he wasn’t acquired to unravel Toronto’s shaky half-court offense.

Fixing that can possible decide the Raptors’ destiny as they attempt to pull themselves up from ninth place, a difficulty no totally different than earlier than the commerce deadline.

The Raptors had been operating into Cleveland at a foul time. Beating a staff 4 straight occasions is rarely straightforward within the first place, however particularly for the reason that Cavs had been coming off a pair of disappointing losses popping out of the all-star break – a hard-fought one at house to Denver after which a blowout out on the second night time of a back-to-back towards Atlanta within the Hawks’ first recreation after their head coach Nate McMillan received fired.

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Cleveland had additionally misplaced towards the Philadelphia 76ers earlier than the break, so there have been some antsy moments with a three-game shedding streak and two weeks between wins. The Cavaliers’ late-season slide a 12 months in the past noticed them fall again to the play-in match the place they bowed out meekly, leaving a bitter style after what had been an in any other case encouraging season.

However this skid was nothing to fret about in accordance with Cavaliers head coach JB Bickerstaff: “I belief these guys. I imply, I’m round them each single day. I do know their make-up. I do know their character. I understand how dedicated they’re to 1 one other. And I’m a devoted particular person. It’s a must to work arduous to earn my belief. And once you earn my belief, like we undergo it collectively, you already know, as coaches like our workers, we’re not the kind of folks to leap ship. We’re the kind of individuals who bear down and see how we repair all the pieces. And these dudes have given me an excessive amount of too many causes to consider in them.”

They definitely regarded the half towards the Raptors within the first half as the fourth-seeded Cavs led 34-28 after the primary quarter and 64-42 at half. The issue Toronto had was determining how one can take care of the Cavaliers’ excellent backcourt mixture of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell.

Toronto has been ninth in defensive ranking since Jakob Poeltl joined them on the commerce deadline, permitting 110.8 factors per recreation in comparison with seventeenth and 113.6 previous to his arrival.

“He’s supplied us some actually nice dimension towards groups once we’ve wanted it, in virtually each recreation there’s been circumstances the place we’ve wanted him,” mentioned Nurse of Poeltl, who got here into the sport averaging 14.4 factors, 10 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 1.6 steals whereas taking pictures 74.4 per cent from the ground in his 5 video games with Toronto. Though Toronto has had some success going with smaller lineups towards the Cavs and their twin-tower mixture of Even Mobley and Jarrett Allen, the addition of Poeltl meant he was possible to stick with a much bigger lineup. “I assume I’m most likely extra fascinated about persevering with to construct what we’ve received, and that’s what we’ve received, so we have to see it go towards each mixture or state of affairs we do get in.“

Nicely, Cleveland wasn’t paying any consideration to that. Poeltl did have a few good performs on Mitchell on the rim within the first quarter, however Mitchell was high-quality to step exterior and knock down a pair of first-quarter threes or make some nifty drop passes to Jarrett Allen off his penetration.

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Equally, Garland began scorching from deep, nailing three fast threes within the first quarter. Mitchell ended up with 22 factors within the first half with 5 threes whereas Garland had 14 factors and 5 assists. The beneficiary was Allen who had 17 first-half factors on seven-of-eight taking pictures. It was the primary time shortly that Toronto regarded like that they had extra holes than they might fill defensively.

In the meantime, on the different finish, the Cavs’ dimension was an element. Pascal Siakam discovered himself attempting to determine how one can remedy rangy Cleveland ahead Evan Mobley. It was high-quality when Siakam’s jumper was falling – he was 2-of-5 from three within the first half — however attending to the rim with the seven-foot Mobley’s spider arms waving round was a problem, particularly with the information that Allen was lurking behind seeking to assist.

The Cavs regarded like they may put an actual gap within the recreation late within the second quarter as they had been up by 14 after Mobley scored on a dunk arrange by Mitchell after which drained a triple arrange by Mitchell once more, however Scottie Barnes lastly engaged and scored eight factors in a four-minute surge to shut the half and hold Toronto in it.

The Raptors continued their surge firstly of the third, with Siakam hitting his third triple of the sport after which hitting Barnes for a lay-up after a steal by Poeltl on the subsequent possession. Siakam’s fourth three of the sport introduced Toronto inside 4, however that they had a tough time getting over the hump towards a decided Cavaliers staff and an particularly locked-in Mitchell.

The Raptors briefly caught a break when a coach’s evaluation of a Mitchell offensive foul requested by Bickerstaff was not solely upheld however upgraded to a aromatic 1. Poeltl hit each of his free throws to chop the result in 9, however then Mitchell went from scorching to molten, scoring 10 factors within the subsequent two minutes, prompting a Raptors timeout with Cleveland’s lead prolonged to twenty on their option to a 92-76 result in begin the fourth quarter.

The sport wasn’t over then, however it ended up being simply that. The Raptors’ playoff push is simply beginning.

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