Cleveland Cavaliers Stay Perfect: Routed Raptors Anew

The Cleveland Cavaliers stay perfect in the playoffs after another dominating win over the Toronto Raptors in Game 2

Perfection.

That’s the kind of word you would use to describe the kind of mindset these Cleveland Cavaliers are employing during this year’s playoffs. Perfection.

Perfect execution of plays. Simply perfect. Result? LeBron James and the rest of the Eastern Conference Champions are still perfect during the playoffs after routing the fading Toronto Raptors, 108-89, in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

More from Sir Charles In Charge

And that allowed the Cavs to have the second best start of the playoffs in NBA history at 10-0. For a team that has been trying to end a 5-decade title drought, it looked like LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love have finally realized that if they want to beat the Warriors (assuming GSW makes it back too) in the Finals, they will have to play exactly like the Warriors.

Or, should we say, better than the defending champions. If anything, Game 2 of the ECF is an indication that there’s no stopping the King and his knights from going back to the Finals unless the Raptors can get back their claws that enabled them to finish the regular season in 2nd place in the East.

Game 2 of the ECF is basically an improvement for the Cavs to say the least. To begin with, DeMar DeRozan and company continued misfiring from almost everywhere. They only made 42 percent of their shot attempts, including a disappointing 27 percent from downtown. The Cavs on the other hand made most of their attempts, making 50 percent of their shots and 33 percent of their attempts from the three-point line.

More than percentages, the full firepower of the Cavs’ Big 3: LeBron, Irving and Love, was in full display. The trio combined for 68 points, 20 rebounds and 17 assists. LeBron James for one, finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, another playoff triple-double for His Majesty.

The Raptors’ duo of DeRozan and Kyle Lowry continued with their miserable shooting slumps, finishing the game on a 8 of 18 and 4 of 14 shooting respectively. Lowry’s three-point shooting continued to worsen, making only 1 of his 8 attempts from downtown.

Although DeRozan and Lowry finished with 22 and 10 points respectively, the rest of Toronto’s starters finished Game 2 with a combined 16 points. The only positive spot for the Raptors was the production that came from its bench players. They combined for 39 points, outscoring the Cavs’ subs who scored 19 points all in all.

Toronto’s inability to take control of their gameplay is what dooming them in the first place. In the first two games of the ECF, they struggled early on. They dug themselves hole. They came back in the second quarter, even took the lead.

Then, they allowed the Cavs to take away the lead for good and run away in the second half. Those are bad habits, disappointing ones especially for a team which is riding on high expectations after entering the playoffs as the second-best team in the conference.

Game 3 and 4 will be at Air Canada Center and the Raptors themselves have a choice: Improve or get swept in front of their home crowd.

First things first. Game 3 would be the perfect time for Lowry and DeRozan to finally come out of their shooting slump and lead these Raptors.

Next: consistency. Be the Raptors that beat the Cavs twice during the regular season. Wile many say that season series doesn’t matter during the playoffs, it’s important that Dwane Casey and his wards review the tapes of those games and try to remember what they’ve done to beat the Cavs in the first place.

Otherwise, the Cleveland Cavaliers will remain perfect and will return to the Finals earlier than what most people have been expecting. Why? Most people are expecting the Raptors to put up a fight against these Cavaliers. It turns out, the Raptors aren’t even trying.

If anything, Game 2 proved one thing: being in the Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history doesn’t mean you’ll have the excuse to wander around like kids inside a toy store. If you play that way against a veteran team like the Cavs, they’ll pound you.

More sir charles in charge: What Should The Celtics Do With The Third Overall Pick?

That’s what the Cavs have been doing siince the beginning of the playoffs. Pounding their opponents. Still wondering how they stayed perfect? Dwane Casey should ask the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks.

Home/Cleveland Cavaliers