NBA Playoffs 2018: 5 keys to Toronto Raptors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers matchup
4. Raptors offensive woes
In 2016 and 2017 the Raptors couldn’t keep up with Cleveland’s incredible offensive firepower. In classic Raptors fashion, the offense ground to a halt and became fairly easy to stop. Part of that poor play has been due to the Cavs flipping the proverbial defensive switch on in the playoffs. But DeRozan and Lowry have also never shot well against the Cavs. The duo’s poor shooting seems to be as much a mental issue than a tactical issue one. For whatever reason they never looked confident enough to beat the Cavs.
This season the Cavs don’t appear to have a defensive switch. They’ve been a poor defensive team all year and show no signs of cleaning up their act. The opportunities will be there for Kyle and DeMar in this series. They must take advantage this time around and punish every Cavs error. No more excuses. This doesn’t only mean that they have to shoot better, which is a given. Lowry and DeRozan must continue to trust each other and their teammates and play the style of basketball that got Toronto the one-seed in the first place. They have to torch defenders in pick and roll and create passing sequences that the fragile Cavs defense can’t handle.
In last year’s playoffs the Bucks blitzed Toronto far from the basket, forcing the ball out of the hands of Kyle Lowry early and often in last year’s playoffs. The Raptors eventually beat that scheme. The Cavs used that kind of trapping scheme to limit the effectiveness of Victor Oladipo last series. I’m not sure how well that will work against Toronto. The Pacers weren’t able to make the Cavs pay often enough for such a high risk strategy, but the Raptors have better passers and more firepower across the roster. Serge Ibaka will be pivotal for Toronto in this area. He has to make quick decisions with the ball if the Cavs do in fact resort to any kind of trapping scheme.
The potential resurrection of Tristan Thompson could be especially important here as well. Playing him would allow for a more reliable, switch heavy scheme that could tempt the Raptors into more isolations. While DeRozan and Lowry can hit those iso shots, they don’t have a track record of doing so in the playoffs. If the Raptors can light up this Cleveland defense consistently they have a good chance to emerge victorious, especially if the Cavs offense falls apart as often as it did against Indiana.