Sunday, May 6, 2018

LeBron-Again- Cavaliers cut down Raptors at the buzzer

The Cleveland Cavaliers had allowed the Toronto Raptors to crawl back into game three with a fourth quarter that bordered on obtuse and with eight seconds to go, Toronto's OG Anunoby's three-pointer tied the game with Cleveland using its final timeout.

Cleveland to the surprise of Hubie Brown at the announcer's table decided to throw the ball in from the far end of the court rather than half court.
It turned out to be exactly what the situation called for as Toronto somehow allowed the one man that could beat them in this scenario to get the ball and do just that as LeBron James took the inbounds pass, dribbled up the floor, tossed up an off-balance shot off one foot and banked it home to pandemonium in Cleveland for a 105-103 win and a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
James led Cleveland with 38 points with Kevin Love stepping up again with a 21 point, 18 rebound game and Kyle Korver scoring 18 to support the King in his efforts.
Game four is Monday in Cleveland with the Cavaliers having a chance to close the show and eliminate the Raptors, who have to be shaking their head and wondering what they have to do to defeat LeBron James four times in a row without a slip-up.

Swashbucklings

1) Tell me, just try to tell me that LeBron James isn't coming back to Cleveland.
Well, if he isn't, he is going full speed ahead in his final days and with a recklessness that borders on unsafe at times, James is playing like a player that is making a stand and one that wants to attract players to Cleveland, rather than one promoting himself to others.
At least I hope.

2) Tell me why Toronto even allowed the ball to get to LeBron, to begin with.
They didn't double-team him off the ball, didn't try to trap him or even press him until he hit the frontcourt with a head of steam.
The degree of difficulty was extremely high with eight seconds remaining as it was, but even using one of those tactics might have made that shot close to impossible.
Those decisions allowed the greatest player in the game a chance to beat you and anytime you open that window...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmTpuTSkDWk

3) Kevin Love played well on the stat sheet, but Love also played well in the third quarter when James rested, scoring seven points without him and keeping the Cavaliers ahead by double-digits before the Raptors rally in the final period.
However. Love wouldn't take a shot in the fourth quarter, this offense still runs best with Love as the second option, not with LeBron and four extras.

4) Don't forget why the buzzer beater was needed though, missed free throws by LeBron James (I think I can overlook it) and Jeff Green to allow the tying three-pointer hit by OG Anunoby to tie the game.
It is a quibble in a victory, but it can be huge in a defeat.

5) Want to know another reason Toronto is struggling?
When you can't play your star at all in the fourth quarter because he's a liability and you rally from 14 down entering the quarter, that says a lot for your star.
Demar DeRozan disappeared from the game with eight points and Toronto played better without him?
That's not just something for Toronto to think about before Monday, it might be something to think about in the off-season.

6) So, that just about wraps this series up.
The question is now is does the series last four, five or six games?
I can see Toronto scraping together a win Monday and game five in Toronto, but I think that's the limit.
It would be better for the Cavaliers to end this series and save the legs, especially with Boston leading Philadelphia 3-0, but this series essentially ended in Cleveland last night..

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