LeBron is still the King and the Raptors are still doomed: 3 takeaways

The Raptors battled back from a 17-point deficit. And, once again, had their hearts ripped out by the brilliance of LeBron James.

Two home losses to begin their series with the Cavaliers put the Raptors in an uncomfortably familiar place — staring up at the greatness of LeBron James. Game 3 was their chance to put everything on the line, pull out all the stops, throwing everything they could at every wall, and hopefully find their way back into this series. They did, and it still wasn’t enough.

Toronto looked doomed from early in the game but didn’t let the lead stretch beyond 17 (ha!) and battled back with an enormous closing kick, tying the game for the first time on an OG Anunoby 3-pointer with eight seconds left. Just enough time left for LeBron to do this…

It’s well worn territory, but there really isn’t anything left for the Raptors. DeMar DeRozan was a disaster and rode the bench for most of the fourth quarter as Dwane Casey looked for any formula to close the gap. Fred VanVleet started in place of Serge Ibaka. Toronto made 3s and got calls. They just don’t have LeBron James. Game 4 will be played on Monday night, but it’s really a formality at this point.

Takeaways

My kingdom for a defensive adjustment. Dwane Casey entered the playoffs with a strong Coach of the Year case but he’s been brutally exposed in this series. Down the stretch the Cavaliers were repeatedly able to walk a LeBron-Korver pick-and-roll into a switch with Anunoby guarding Korver and C.J. Miles on LeBron, who exploited it mercilessly.

Casey and the Raptors didn’t appear to have a defensive strategy other than to leave Miles on an island and cross their fingers. Toronto also looked embarrassingly unprepared, strategy wise, for several clutch possessions, offensively and defensively. I’m not sure it would have made a difference because, you know, LeBron, but it would have been nice to see.

Kyle Lowry did everything he could, tonight. Questions about playoff failures will dog DeRozan and Lowry for the foreseeable future, but in Lowry at least beat them back a bit. He finished with 27 points and seven assists on 9-of-13 shooting, making every one of his shots inside the arc. For as lost as he’s looked in other playoff flops, Lowry was aggressive, assertive and composed down the stretch. If he hadn’t played so well, the Raptors wouldn’t have forced LeBron to make a buzzer-beater to beat them.

Next: The Toronto Raptors need their T-Rex to come up big

Watch out, but LeBron has a supporting cast. Their defense is still terrible. And yes, it’s still taking epic LeBron performances for Cleveland to keep winning. But the rest of the Cavs are finally showing up. Kevin Love was fantastic in this game, with 21 points and 16 rebounds. George Hill and LeBron continue to display a savvy chemistry together. Kyle Korver is knocking downs 3s and Jeff Green is making big plays. They don’t run 10-deep but this Cavaliers rotation is a lot more than just one guy right now.