mtcan wrote:Again...our 30 million/year starting PG is out. We haven't been 100% all series long. You can say that BI hasn't been good throughout the series but he still put up 23 points in game 4 so we definitely miss his scoring and his gravity. And when he plays...he's ALWAYS a threat to go off but when he's in street clothes there is 0% chance he does that.
You keep mentioning the player salary like that means something. Your second most impactful player in this series is on a rookie deal. News flash my guy: no one cares how much money the players you're currently missing make. It's this kind of mindset that made people think this would be a one sided series in the Cavs favor. One of Cleveland's best players in this series makes less than 10 million a year, and that's entirely due to his defense.
And ah yes, the 23 points Ingram put up on 26 shots. Yes, I'm sure that's what Toronto desperately needs in a series where they're shooting, what, close to 50% from the field?
mtcan wrote: Cavs injury report has been clear all series long. That's just facts.
Yes, just like the injury report for Jak has been clear all series long, even though we know he's been playing with a bad back. Just like the injury report has been clear all series long for Barnes, even though we know he's been playing with an injury the past two games.
I can't believe I need to say this to an adult, but just because a player is suiting up to play doesn't mean they're 100%. That's not how it works.
mtcan wrote: Take out Jarrett Allen and James Harden for game 7 and that's when we will be on equal footing in game 7. Let's do that and the Raptors would 100% win because we already beat the Cavs without 2 of our starters...lol.
Again, not how basketball works.
You take Harden out of the equation, Cleveland is forced to play with a more movement based offense which is when they're at their best. It's one of the reasons why Toronto is succeeding in limiting it because their offense is too predictable. Miami learned this lesson the hard way last year when Merrill went to the starting lineup and Clevelands offense became a free flowing movement based unit, Miami struggled to keep up with it and Cleveland utilized their depth to run circles around their defense. And you'd have better defense with Merrill (I assume he would be the starting two guard) in place of Harden.
Losing Allen would be a different story. You lose his rebounding and cutting, and now Bryant is being forced to get more minutes. On the other hand though, Wade gets put back in the lineup and the Merrill/Strus/Wade minutes have been great for Cleveland.
I could be wrong about all of this. But my point is that basketball does not work in the form of "we're missing player A therefore we should be worse". It depends on matchups.
In this case, losing Quickly has hurt your offense but it has helped your defense, which is one of the reasons why Toronto has been able to take this to seven games. It's left Cleveland without anyone to hunt on offense. Stuff like that matters.
mtcan wrote: And if this just a coping mechanism in case the Cavs lose...man...it's a weak excuse...seriously just don't. CAVS ARE SUPPOSED TO BEAT THE RAPTORS.
Coping mechanism? You said the Cavs were healthy. I'm telling you they aren't. Go back through all the threads and tell me when I EVER at any point used injuries as an excuse. You're not going to find any because I know better than to pull that card. That was never the point.
mtcan wrote: Cavs aren't supposed to be in a game 7 when they supposedly have a superior roster in every way. If one of your all-stars is injured...aren't the other 3 all-stars supposed to step up??? What's your excuse then??????????
And this right here, along with other things, showcases a clear lack of understanding of the game of basketball on your end.
Why are the Cavs not supposed to be in a game 7? Because they have the superior roster? Based on what? Accolades? All star appearances? Stats? Stats show Toronto to be a top five defense in the league while Cleveland is a top five offense. On that alone they're on even playing field. Obviously once context comes into play, that starts to change. Cleveland is obviously better than their record, but can't the same be said about Toronto? You guys have had a lot of injury issues throughout the season yet here you are with the fifth seed. But for some reason you and many others are going with this bizarre argument that the Raptors have a really poor roster while Cleveland's roster is vastly superior. That simply isn't the case, at least based on what I'm seeing.
As good as Clevelands offense was in the regular season, it's not suited for post season play. James Harden, as much as I love to rag on the guy, is a big reason for this. We have over a decade of his style of play being a problem for his teams, why are you guys surprised that it isn't working again, especially when he's well past his prime? Mitchell is an excellent post season player, but he struggles against lengthy perimeter defenders who like to play physical. Why are you guys surprised that he's not playing well? You guys constantly talk about how Barnes is better than Mobley, yet are surprised that Barnes is out playing him. Again, I ask, why? How out of touch and clueless are you when it comes to the rest of the NBA?
My point is if you and others had ANY clue what you were talking about, you wouldn't be claiming the Cavs should've won by now. Yes, they could've put this series away in 5 had the played smarter in game 4. They could've ended it last night had they been a little bit luckier. But given that they lost last year in large part because they couldn't handle the Pacers physicality, and they lost in 23 because they couldn't handle the Knicks physicality, I find myself sitting here asking, what were you expecting and did you just start watching yesterday?
mtcan wrote: I'm prepared for the reality that the Cavs could beat the Raptors and that's totally fine. Are you prepared for the reality that the Raptors could beat the Cavs???
Am I prepared for something that I predicted would happen months ago? Yes, it's literally something I've been complaining about for a while now. I literally said in the very first thread about this series that I wouldn't be surprised at all if the raptors won, because I, unlike you and many, many other raptors fans, know the Cavaliers and how they play.
