ECSF: P1 | (1) Toronto Raptors vs Cleveland Cavaliers (4) | TIED 0-0

bmurph128 · Post #361 » by **bmurph128** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:13 am

Its going to be a sigh of relief not going against the Pacers insane defense. I expect the role players to play much better, but might not be enough. Cavs in 6 or Raps in 7.

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pingpongrac · Post #362 » by **pingpongrac** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:16 am

Heej wrote:
Warchant wrote:
fart wrote:Basketball is all about matchups. Indy was just a bad matchup for Cleveland. I expect a very good performance vs the Raps.

I would love an explanation how Indy is a bad matchup?

Indy has 2 very good defensive point guards (Collison and CoJo) that can pick up full court and get the Cavs out of their sets. This has an ancillary effect of draining LeBron's tank as he's forced to bring the ball up every possession. Oladipo is unguardable in isolation, the only one who even remotely has a chance is LeBron but Oladipo still crosses him up and blows by him basically at will. Thad Young is one of the best Stretch 4 defenders in the league. The pacers as a unit have solid 2 way players rounding that out with Bogdanovic and Turner.

Oladipos singular brilliance in single coverage combined with the Pacers outright dominance by their bigs in the post and on the offensive glass vs switches forced the Cavs into playing a gimmick defense to have any hope of containing him. Also, these Pacers are arguably the most physical team in the playoffs after the Heat and the Warriors. The Cavs are soft except for George Hill, JR, and LeBron. The extra physical teams have always done a number on the Cavs

VanVleet and Wright (along with Siakam on the inbound) quite frequently pick up the ball full court. I'd also argue that DeRozan is nearly as difficult to guard in isolation as Oladipo. DeRozan has had several solid games against the Cavs because Smith (and Shumpert in years past) had no chance to slow him down, and I don't expect this year to be any different unless LeBron guards DeRozan the entire series.

Most importantly, though, Toronto overall was significantly better than the Pacers on both sides of the floor (3rd OFF and 5th DEF compared to 12th OFF and 14th DEF) this season. There's no reason to think the Raptors are a better matchup for the Cavs than the Pacers other than the "psychological advantage" that everyone seems to think Cleveland has over Toronto.

eagereyez · Post #363 » by **eagereyez** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:20 am

Lowry and DeRozan are playing much better so far in this year's playoffs. The role players surrounding them look better than last year. They really look poised to take the next step, while the team supporting LeBron is significantly worse than last year's.

Cavs in 5.

NBAFan93 · Post #364 » by **NBAFan93** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:22 am

eagereyez wrote:Lowry and DeRozan are playing much better so far in this year's playoffs. The role players surrounding them look better than last year. They really look poised to take the next step, while the team supporting LeBron is significantly worse than last year's.

Cavs in 5.

LoveMyRaps · Post #365 » by **LoveMyRaps** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:23 am

RipPizzaGuy wrote:Cavs in 6. Raptors don't have a single guy who can guard lebron. Hes going to destroy OG to start the series, siakam will be their best bet but hes not fast enough on the wing.

Lowry and DeRozan will take turns having their usual 5-18 shooting nights.

Not to mention George hill got his confidence back, and Love should have an easier time finding his spots. This last game helped the Cavs role players find their confidence.

- LeBron was 4/16 when being guarded by Siakam during the regular season
- Lowry and DeMar are shooting 47% and 44% from the field respectively.
- George Hill was 1/3 from the field and suddenly he has his confidence back?
- Raptors are a much better defensive team than the Pacers, but somehow Love is going to have an easier time finding open spots?

All because your team has been the joke of the league for the past decade, doesn't mean you can take your anger out on another team and spew a bunch of BS.

Vlade Divac · Post #366 » by **Vlade Divac** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:23 am

eagereyez wrote:Lowry and DeRozan are playing much better so far in this year's playoffs. The role players surrounding them look better than last year. They really look poised to take the next step, while the team supporting LeBron is significantly worse than last year's.

Cavs in 5.

Are you saying - trust the process?

Fat · Post #367 » by **Fat** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:24 am

No excuses for the raps this time around. This is your series to take.

Huskies1947 · Post #368 » by **Huskies1947** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:25 am

The last two years (especially last year) I had no confidence in the Raps defeating the Cavs. This year they seem very focused and not just "happy to be there."

Watch on YouTube

anish23 · Post #369 » by **anish23** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:28 am

how week is the eastern conference.. sigh.

Raps in 6.

JordansBulls · Post #370 » by **JordansBulls** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:32 am

RipPizzaGuy wrote:Cavs in 6. Raptors don't have a single guy who can guard lebron.

Indiana didn't either

jfs1000d · Post #371 » by **jfs1000d** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:36 am

Raps in 5.

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SFour · Post #372 » by **SFour** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:40 am

RipPizzaGuy wrote:Cavs in 6. Raptors don't have a single guy who can guard lebron. Hes going to destroy OG to start the series, siakam will be their best bet but hes not fast enough on the wing.

Lowry and DeRozan will take turns having their usual 5-18 shooting nights.

Not to mention George hill got his confidence back, and Love should have an easier time finding his spots. This last game helped the Cavs role players find their confidence.

No one on the Pacers was able to guard Lebron...he averaged 34/10/8 in the series, and 42/11/7 in wins. Lebron is going to get his, just gotta hope the guys around him aren't draining 3s.

Hill scored 11 points, 9 of those were from freethrows...if that's a confidence booster then I don't know what to say. Love scored 14. The bench was absolute trash.... Only TT gained some confidence, but JV will take that all away.

LightTheBeam · Post #373 » by **LightTheBeam** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:40 am

LoveMyRaps wrote:
RipPizzaGuy wrote:Cavs in 6. Raptors don't have a single guy who can guard lebron. Hes going to destroy OG to start the series, siakam will be their best bet but hes not fast enough on the wing.

Lowry and DeRozan will take turns having their usual 5-18 shooting nights.

Not to mention George hill got his confidence back, and Love should have an easier time finding his spots. This last game helped the Cavs role players find their confidence.

- LeBron was 4/16 when being guarded by Siakam during the regular season
- Lowry and DeMar are shooting 47% and 44% from the field respectively.
- George Hill was 1/3 from the field and suddenly he has his confidence back?
- Raptors are a much better defensive team than the Pacers, but somehow Love is going to have an easier time finding open spots?

All because your team has been the joke of the league for the past decade, doesn't mean you can take your anger out on another team and spew a bunch of BS.

more of this sensitivity from you Raptors fans. Stfu dude, it's my opinion you don't like it go cry about it in the corner. Your raps are losing this series as they have for years and years.

LightTheBeam · Post #374 » by **LightTheBeam** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:41 am

JordansBulls wrote:
RipPizzaGuy wrote:Cavs in 6. Raptors don't have a single guy who can guard lebron.

Indiana didn't either

They had stephenson and bojan to trouble him on the perimeter and turner waiting on the interior. I don't think rookie OG and Jonas have the same effect.

Heej · Post #375 » by **Heej** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:42 am

pingpongrac wrote:
Heej wrote:
Warchant wrote:I would love an explanation how Indy is a bad matchup?

Indy has 2 very good defensive point guards (Collison and CoJo) that can pick up full court and get the Cavs out of their sets. This has an ancillary effect of draining LeBron's tank as he's forced to bring the ball up every possession. Oladipo is unguardable in isolation, the only one who even remotely has a chance is LeBron but Oladipo still crosses him up and blows by him basically at will. Thad Young is one of the best Stretch 4 defenders in the league. The pacers as a unit have solid 2 way players rounding that out with Bogdanovic and Turner.

Oladipos singular brilliance in single coverage combined with the Pacers outright dominance by their bigs in the post and on the offensive glass vs switches forced the Cavs into playing a gimmick defense to have any hope of containing him. Also, these Pacers are arguably the most physical team in the playoffs after the Heat and the Warriors. The Cavs are soft except for George Hill, JR, and LeBron. The extra physical teams have always done a number on the Cavs

VanVleet and Wright (along with Siakam on the inbound) quite frequently pick up the ball full court. I'd also argue that DeRozan is nearly as difficult to guard in isolation as Oladipo. DeRozan has had several solid games against the Cavs because Smith (and Shumpert in years past) had no chance to slow him down, and I don't expect this year to be any different unless LeBron guards DeRozan the entire series.

Most importantly, though, Toronto overall was significantly better than the Pacers on both sides of the floor (3rd OFF and 5th DEF compared to 12th OFF and 14th DEF) this season. There's no reason to think the Raptors are a better matchup for the Cavs than the Pacers other than the "psychological advantage" that everyone seems to think Cleveland has over Toronto.

I mean, the Cavs are a flawed team. I could see the bench lineup and guard matchups going handily in Toronto's favor. Difference between Oladipo and Derozan is that Oladipo is much more dangerous off the ball. Also his defensive impact far surpasses Derozan. He was able to contain shooters while at the same time being disruptive on help due to his speed and balance on closeouts. He basically did the defensive job of 1.5 to 2 players in the time he was on the court. DeRozan cannot. I think the Raptors are much more equipped to handle getting trapped if it comes down to it.

TGW · Post #376 » by **TGW** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:44 am

Soon:

LightTheBeam · Post #377 » by **LightTheBeam** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:46 am

Man this board is really going downhill. All the massive crowd of Raptors fans jump down your throat if you have a negative opinion of them.

Sorry demar DeRozan **** the bed last year against the Cavs in the playoffs. You lost tucker, Joseph, and Powell regressed. Those guys were replaced by rookie OG, siakam, and FVV picking up a bigger role. I'm sorry i don't see the huge improvement you guys see.

Damn dude it's so annoying. If you have anything bad to say about them, you get quoted 16 times with personal attacks. Its **** basketball man, get a life.

mowcrowbar · Post #378 » by **mowcrowbar** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:49 am

JordansBulls wrote:
RipPizzaGuy wrote:Cavs in 6. Raptors don't have a single guy who can guard lebron.

Indiana didn't either

Why, DPOY Bogdanovic bodied LeBron all series long! Surely the Raptors have no one of that caliber!

Warchant · Post #379 » by **Warchant** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:49 am

Heej wrote:
Warchant wrote:
fart wrote:Basketball is all about matchups. Indy was just a bad matchup for Cleveland. I expect a very good performance vs the Raps.

I would love an explanation how Indy is a bad matchup?

Indy has 2 very good defensive point guards (Collison and CoJo) that can pick up full court and get the Cavs out of their sets. This has an ancillary effect of draining LeBron's tank as he's forced to bring the ball up every possession. Oladipo is unguardable in isolation, the only one who even remotely has a chance is LeBron but Oladipo still crosses him up and blows by him basically at will. Thad Young is one of the best Stretch 4 defenders in the league. The pacers as a unit have solid 2 way players rounding that out with Bogdanovic and Turner.

Oladipos singular brilliance in single coverage combined with the Pacers outright dominance by their bigs in the post and on the offensive glass vs switches forced the Cavs into playing a gimmick defense to have any hope of containing him. Also, these Pacers are arguably the most physical team in the playoffs after the Heat and the Warriors. The Cavs are soft except for George Hill, JR, and LeBron. The extra physical teams have always done a number on the Cavs

Isnt Ibaka and Young the same kind of player w Ibaka a more offensive threat? JV is much more physical than Turner

SFour · Post #380 » by **SFour** » Mon Apr 30, 2018 1:53 am

RipPizzaGuy wrote:Man this board is really going downhill. All the massive crowd of Raptors fans jump down your throat if you have a negative opinion of them.

Sorry demar DeRozan **** the bed last year against the Cavs in the playoffs. You lost tucker, Joseph, and Powell regressed. Those guys were replaced by rookie OG, siakam, and FVV picking up a bigger role. I'm sorry i don't see the huge improvement you guys see.

Damn dude it's so annoying. If you have anything bad to say about them, you get quoted 16 times with personal attacks. Its **** basketball man, get a life.

you clearly don't watch Raptors games yet you act like you know everything. "Rookie" OG is the best defender on the team, there's a reason he's starting on the #1 team in the East as a rookie, hint - it's not for his offense. Siakam can easily replace Ibaka in a couple years as a starter. And FVV is arguably the 3rd or 4th most important player on this team as he leads the bench mob and closes out games in the 4th quarter, his nickname is Steady Freddy for a reason.

Anyways you clearly have a hatred for raptors fan, you continuously spew out garbage trying to bait raptors fans, then you're surprised when they reply to you. lmao

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