LeBron James tallied 35 points, ten rebounds, and four assists, Kyrie Irving dropped 24 points, and ten assists and the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised past the Toronto Raptors 116 to 105 in game one of the second round.
The Cavs got it done on offense and defense. They shot 41 percent from beyond the arc, 45 percent from the field, and held Lowry and DeRozan to 20 points or less. It was a very dominant showing from them and sets a tone for the series.
Cavs didn't lose rhythm
The biggest concern heading into this first game was how the Cavs would respond with a lot of time off.
Their last game was on April 23rd. They responded well, and they surprisingly look even better than they did in the first round. If there's one thing that tends to happen with a LeBron-led team, it's that throughout the course of the playoffs, whatever team he is leading seems to get better and better as a unit. Monday night was no different, and the Cavs look like they have their eyes set on a sweep.
Are the Raptors done?
It's obviously so early to think the Raptors are done, but they have huge issues in this series. For one, no one can defend LeBron James. The first key to beating LeBron is you have to slow him somehow down. He had 35 points on 23 shots. If you can't even slow him down, then you don't have a chance.
After you do that, the last thing you want to do is have Kyrie Irving go to work on you. Kyrie had 24, but the bigger number in all of this were his ten assists. This means he's not only scoring, but he's getting points scored in other ways too. It was an ugly game for Toronto, and it didn't help that
It was an ugly game for Toronto, and it didn't help that DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry didn't get a lot done.
Neither of them took a lot of shots but if they are your best players you need them at some point trying to get some looks.
Things the Raptors can improve on for game two realistically is their speed at which they cover help lanes and on pick and rolls. The effort and intensity have to be there first before they can expect to outscore the Cavs.
Offensively there have to be some changes, but it all starts on the defensive side of the floor for Toronto.
The Cavs are rolling right now and although you can always improve, keeping that same level of speed in game two will be beneficial for Cleveland. They looked rested and almost excited to be back into the swing of things. Game 2 is a must-win for Toronto to get on the right footing in this series. Game 2 will be on Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM EST on TNT.
