Different formula yields the same result for Cavs

The Cleveland Cavaliers took a 1-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals, with a dominant 115-84 victory against the Toronto Raptors, and the Cavs proved they can win playing a variety of different styles.

The Cavaliers were setting three-point shooting records to end their second round series with the Atlanta Hawks.

To start this series, more records were broken, but just not of the same category.

Thanks to a pounding inside the paint, the Cavs set a franchise record for highest ever playoff win, with a 31-point drubbing of a hapless Raptors unit on Tuesday night.

Cleveland scored 56 points in the paint in Game 1 of the conference finals, which was 48.7 percent of their total score line. For comparison, in their sweep of the Hawks, 44.3 percent of the Cavs shots came from beyond the three-point line, where they connected on a ridiculous 50.7 percent of them.

“We always want to play inside-out,” coach Tyronn Lue said post-game, via cavs.com. “When Kyrie [Irving], LeBron [James] and Kevin [Love], are attacking the basket, it opens up the three-point shot for us because guys are helping. Tonight, we were able to get downhill and get to the basket and get a lot of lay-ups. We just take what the defense gives us. If they open up the paint, we are going to drive and attack the basket.”

James has said all along that the Cavaliers aren’t a three-point shooting team, despite their historic performances, and perhaps he is correct. Cleveland’s barrage of paint points started with James, as he was aggressive from the tip and took advantage of Toronto’s decision to defend him with single coverage.

On the game, James shot an astonishing 11-of-12 in the paint. In the first half, he was a perfect 7-of-7 at the rim, proving just how easily he was getting to the basket.

Irving was just as instrumental, as he scored a game-high 27-points, including shooting 6-of-8 in the painted area.

“With myself and Ky, we love to live in the paint,” James said, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “We love to attack, and then when the defense collapses, we’re going to spread out to our shooters. Tonight they wanted us to be in the paint, and we just tried to take advantage of that.”

The Raptors defense represented a revolving door, as the Cavs waltzed to the basket with little resistance all game long. Whether it was James throwing down a thunderous baseline jam, Irving putting Corey Joseph on skates on his way to the rim or Matthew Dellavedova finishing off a pin-point pass from Channing Frye, the Cavs were literally taking what Toronto were giving them.

This is the true beauty of the Cavaliers three-point shooting excellence in the earlier series. The Raptors are a team known for defending the paint before the perimeter. During the regular season, teams shot 37.3 percent from beyond the arc against Toronto, which ranked them as the second-last team in defending the three-point line. However, the Raptors were still a top-10 team in defensive rating during the season, so by no means is this team a slacking unit on that end.

However, the threat of the Cavaliers three-point shooting made the Raptors completely change and adjust their game plan. So much to the extent, that it made a very good defensive team look second rate.

“You know, we planned — we knew the three ball was big, but they did a good job,” Kyle Lowry said, via Fedor. “We left the floor and the paint too open tonight, I think, and they took advantage of that. I think they just did an overall good job of picking and choosing their spots.”

Even Raptors coach Dwane Casey admitted his team were confused on the defensive end.

“You take away the three, but if you’re not careful, you’re giving up layups, and that’s where we got to get that balance, and I think that’s the key for this whole series,” Casey said, via Fedor.

The deadly combination of James and Irving, two of the NBA’s best finishers, attacking the basket, and Cleveland possessing three-point shooters all over the court, creates a conundrum that is impossible to figure out.

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As they proved in the Atlanta series, the Cavs will make a team pay if they dare them to shoot the long ball. The roster is simply stacked with too many snipers from beyond the arc for the Raptors to ignore.

In paying the Cavs shooters the respect they command though, it gives up Toronto’s ability to defend the rim efficiently. The Raptors can’t afford to help off of the Cavalier shooters, which forces them to play strict one-on-one defense.

DeMarre Carroll is a good match-up on paper against James, but LeBron destroyed the narrative in one half. Irving’s dribbling capability is too much for any one defender to contain.

This puts the Raptors in a lose-lose situation. You either stay at home on the Cavaliers shooters, giving up interior defense. Or, you pack the paint, which leaves the Cavs with open shooters around the perimeter, and we all know how that can turn out.

The Cavaliers were firing on all cylinders in Game 1. Their defense in the second quarter, where they put the game to bed, was the best it has been all playoffs. The bench provided a huge lift, while Lue continued to click all the right buttons.

The biggest encouragement for Cleveland though, was showing their willingness to play differently on the offensive end, but still maintain the elite-level performances and results.