Gap narrows as Raptors keep chasing Cavaliers
After the Cleveland Cavaliers won last season’s Eastern Conference final in six games, the Toronto Raptors vowed to make improvements and become an even more legitimate obstacle in hopes of preventing a repeat for the defending NBA champions.
The Raptors have shown various degrees of evolution early in this season, but the Cavaliers still appear strides ahead. The two teams played against each other three times in a 38-day stretch in the opening months of the season, and one side has proved superior.
The Cavaliers have won all three matchups, including a 116112 victory Monday at Air Canada Centre. One final clash April 12 in Cleveland remains.
In the losses, the Raptors have been competitive; Cleveland won by three, four and four points, respectively. That means little.
“We got to play a perfect game to play a team like that,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey told USA TODAY Sports. “Whether it’s a mental breakdown, not executing, not closing out properly, closing out too close. All those little things matter in the flow of the game. When you play a team like that ... you can’t have mental mistakes, because they are going to capitalize on them.”
Despite combining for 49, 54 and 55 points in the three headto-head matchups, the All- Star backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan admit better exe- cution and limiting mistakes are key to catching the Cavaliers in the future.
“They won a championship last year, so for us, a team that is chasing the best team in the NBA last year, our margin of error is small,” Lowry said. “They beat us three times so far this year and they have our number right now, but we have a long way to go and a lot more regular season to go. We take this game as a lesson.”
DeRozan echoed Lowry’s sentiments.
“They know how to win,” DeRozan said. “Throughout the whole game they understand when they have to turn it up on both ends, so with that you can’t put yourself in a hole deeper than what you are already in, especially against this team. They’re the champions.”
Although the Raptors, who are the only NBA team that has yet to suffer a double-digit loss this season, deserve credit for creating a habit of forcing close games, the Cavaliers never expected a cakewalk.
Point guard Kyrie Irving says most matchups against the Raptors will be nail-biters, but the ability to come out the consistent winners in those situations is a sign of progress.
“We know we are going to get their best shot all the time,” Irving said.
“It always goes down to basically the last two or three minutes. So being part of a competitive game like that, it can only make you better.
“They have an incredible culture built here with Kyle and DeMar leading the charge and other guys filling in very nicely.
“For us, we understand every time that we come out we have to execute defensively and offensively at a high level.”
The NBA season might be only slightly more than a quarter old, but Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue knows exactly how crucial gaining the advantage over the Raptors could be down the line. With the final showdown between the teams slated for the closing day of the Cavaliers’ regular-season schedule, there’s a possibility it could have little stakes depending on the landscape of the conference standings.
“We play them the last game of the season, so I hope it doesn’t matter,” Lue said. “To have the tiebreaker against this team and beating them three times, twice on their floor? It means a lot for our team.
“They’re a great team; well coached. They did some great things defensively, they’re way better defensively than they were two years ago. Offensively they’re playing well, they’re shooting the ball great and they’re a tough team.”