Cleveland took down the East’s top seed with a 132-129 come-from-behind victory at Quicken Loans Arena. An impeccable performance by LeBron James flipped the script after the Cavs had fallen behind by 15 points through the first two quarters, helping Cleveland avenge a brutal loss to Toronto earlier this season.
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It was undoubtedly an exciting contest, but what does it really mean in the grand scheme of things? Let’s take a look at five things we learned from the Cavs’ win.
- LeBron James is still LeBron James.
OK, this isn’t anything new. However, even by LeBron standards, this game stood out.
James finished with 35 points (11-of-19 shooting), 17 assists, seven rebounds and no turnovers. How impressive is that line? No one else has ever had that combination.
He drove to the basket when he had an open lane. He threw pinpoint passes to open shooters. He dissected the Raptors’ defense in the second half with surgeon-like precision.
James has said he is at the peak of his powers this season. When asked by ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth about that comment, James had a simple response.
“Do you believe me yet?”
- Putting LeBron James with shooters remains a major problem.
The second-half shooting numbers from the Cavs are insane: 23-of-38 from the field (60.5 percent) and 9-of-15 from 3-point range (60.0 percent).
Out of James’ nine assists in the final two quarters, seven resulted in 3-pointers. He hit Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Jose Calderon and Jeff Green for open looks.
This is the type of formula that has overwhelmed the Cavs’ past playoff opponents — like that time they almost made more 3-pointers than 2-pointers over a full series against the Hawks — and it was on full display against the Raptors. Despite Cleveland’s struggles this season, “LeBron doing stuff plus 3-pointers equals death” is still a scary thought for opponents.
- There are positives to take from this loss for the Raptors.
Think about how much it took for the Cavs to beat the Raptors by three points. James was perfect, supporting players stepped up (George Hill shot 10-of-11 from the field!) and Toronto was right there at the end of the game.
It’s also worth noting the circumstances. This game was on the second night of a back-to-back for the Raptors after they defeated the Magic on Tuesday. The Cavs beat the Bucks at home on Monday, avoiding any travel ahead of the national TV matchup.
The Cavs were missing Kyle Korver, Tristan Thompson, Rodney Hood and Larry Nance Jr., so Cleveland could argue that was just as impactful as any other element involved here (Raptors guard C.J. Miles also sat out with an illness). But for Raptors coach Dwane Casey, he can tell his players that they have made strides against this particular opponent. Forcing James to use all of his powers in the regular season is a win in its own way.
- The Raptors’ bench mob is a force.
The five-man unit of Fred VanVleet, Delon Wright, Miles, Pascal Siakam and Jakob Poeltl has been one of the best lineups in the NBA all season. That group is currently fourth in net rating (plus-23.3) among five-man lineups with at least 100 minutes of playing time together, per NBA.com. It has been no different in two games against the Cavs.
Four out of the five reserves who took the floor Wednesday had a positive net rating, whereas every Raptors starter had a negative net rating by the end of the night. Those numbers were only more drastic in the Raptors’ 133-99 blowout win over the Cavs back in January.
Coaches typically tighten up rotations and give stars more minutes in the playoffs, but the Toronto bench has been instrumental to the team’s success. Those players have clearly developed a rhythm with each other, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Casey stick with what has worked so far.
- This might not tell us anything about a potential Cavs-Raptors series.
Admittedly, this doesn’t exactly fit into a friendly “First Take” opinion. But it would be foolish to take these first two matchups as any sort of indication the Cavs or Raptors hold a tremendous advantage.
The Cavs have LeBron, and that alone is enough of an argument to believe the East goes through Cleveland. Reminders aren’t necessary.
And yet, this season does feel different, and not just because Kyrie Irving is gone. There have been so many moving parts with the Cavs, and the Raptors are a legitimately better team.
Fortunately for NBA fans, the Cavs and Raptors meet one more time on April 3 before the end of the regular season. We could know a lot more by then — or maybe even less than before.
