Just another day in the office for Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, who had 39 points and passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in career playoff scoring. The Cavaliers completely dominated any chance that Toronto had in game two, and it didn't help that DeMar DeRozan had just 5 points.
Toronto tried to go small
Give Dwane Casey a lot of credit. He tried to mix things up by sending Jonas Valenciunas to the bench, and having Serge Ibaka play at center. He was trying to get a lot of small ball action to go at the Cavs on offense, but it backfired.
Smaller bodies on the floor meant it was a lot easier for LeBron James to go where he wanted.
The Raptors were being outrebounded because of it, and it did not work out.
DeMar DeRozan still has just not looked good against Cleveland. The Cavs defense has gotten better through the course of the playoffs, but if you're a star on your team, you still have to get to the line and contribute if you can't shoot. DeMar is just going cold on the biggest stage of the season.
Cavaliers efficiency
The Cavs shot 54 percent from the three point line, making 18 of them, and 54 percent from the field. This type of offense is dominant basketball. If you get threes to go in that efficiently, you won't have any trouble defeating a struggling Toronto team.
The Raptors made just five threes and shot 29 percent from beyond the arc.
This type of offense from the Cavs is the type that will transfer over to any future series. Although they may not make as many threes each game, the confidence in their shooting is huge, and they are getting any type of look they want.
At this point for Toronto, it's hard to see what changes to be made. They need to hope DeMar DeRozan, and Kyle Lowry just goes berzerk.
They have no answer for LeBron James, and when they figure out one, they still need to figure out an answer for Kyrie Irving. He has 10 or more assist in both these games, and if you're doing that as the scoring point guard he is, then you are set.
Game three will be on Friday, and it will be a different atmosphere. The game will be in Toronto, the Cavs likely won't shoot as well as they have previously, and the game will be a lot closer.
The Raptors have to take this game three if they want any shot at making this series close. The problem is they have nothing to look at from these past two games that could be looked at as a positive. It's been a rough start and really a rough playoff the Raptors haven't displayed much in these playoffs yet.
