5 things we learned from the Cavaliers erasing the Raptors

4. Valanciunas good, DeRozan bad

In previous years, Jonas Valanciunas didn’t have much impact on the game. He barely played in the Conference Finals against the Cavaliers two seasons ago. He played really well in the two games Toronto lost by 20 in the second round last season and was a non-factor in the games that were more competitive.

This season, Valanciunas was able to make an impact. He should have been the hero in Game 1. He missed a couple of bunnies late in the game that could have changed the course of the series and the Raptors franchise (probably not). And he was good in limited minutes in Game 3, showing that maybe the best way to utilize him was an energy guy who could get quick points and rebounds.

Valanciunas made big improvements all season. It went unnoticed as many Toronto players made improvements to their game and the whole system changed. But being able to stay on the court for long stretches and nearly winning them a game is a far cry from the guy who couldn’t get off the bench two seasons ago.

On the other hand. DeMar DeRozan.

Let’s be honest, the Raptors lost this series when DeRozan stated, “If we had LeBron on our team too, we would have won” at the end of last year’s series. Yes, it’s a true statement. But it’s true for every team in the league. If (Insert your favorite team here) had LeBron, (your favorite team) would beat the Raptors. History taught me that Kings outlast dinosaurs 10 times out of 10.

With that mentality, DeRozan and the Raptors never stood a chance.

You can’t think, “we’d beat LeBron if we had LeBron.” You have to think, “who can I text after we lose to LeBron to help me beat LeBron?” That’s the only mentality that will propel you past arguably the greatest player of all-time.

And you should probably score more than eight points in a two-point game.