Can the Toronto Raptors maintain their momentum and exploit the Cleveland Cavaliers' weaknesses in the NBA playoffs?
With the Cleveland Cavaliers losing back-to-back games and the Toronto Raptors tying their first-round NBA playoff series, there has to be a much higher sense of urgency from the Eastern Conference's fourth seed.#
The Cleveland Cavaliers have put themselves in a position to be tied with the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. After winning their first two games at home in convincing fashion, they've dropped consecutive contests on the road, the latest of which could've gone their way.
In Game 3, the Cavs were undone by the adrenaline-rushed Raptors in front of their home crowd. They were outscored 43-23, as Scottie Barnes, RJ Barrett, Collin Murray-Boyles, and a sharpshooting Jamison Battle shot the lights out.
Just two days later in Game 4, it was a rock fight between Toronto and Cleveland, where neither team could buy a jump shot. Even with poor performances all around, the Cavs had an eight-point lead in the final frame and led by five with less than two minutes left.
However, they failed to close on the road, and the Raptors rose to the occasion, swinging the momentum back in their favor heading into a pivotal Game 5.
In the latest episode of Courtside with Cavs, Spencer German and I talked about how shockingly quick the series has turned around and if Cleveland is seeing ghosts again:
You didn't think that the offense was gonna be an issue. We were thinking about how the Raptors were going to keep up with the firepower that Cleveland has. I guess Toronto's solution is just to limit the Cavs in their style of game and force their style of play. You've got to be better.
You can go to the narratives and conversations around this team after it lost in the fashion it did. It's Groundhog Day again, except it's in the first round this year instead of the second round last year and the year before that. It's just mind-boggling.
The series between the Cavs and Raptors is knotted at two games apiece, so it is now a best-of-three matchup. Game 5 at Rocket Arena is on Wednesday night. After that, the teams will head back up north for Game 6 at Scotiabank Arena on Friday.
Depending on which way the pendulum swings, May 3 would be the date in the case of a winner-take-all Game 7.
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