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Cavs vs. Raptors Game 3: 3 Things We Learned

By Jackson Flickinger

May 21, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) falls down during the second quarter in game three of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
May 21, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) falls down during the second quarter in game three of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Cleveland Cavaliers finally lost in the NBA Playoffs. What did we learn from Game 3?

It’s funny how quickly public perception can change in sports. That is especially true in a best of seven series in the NBA playoffs. After the Cavs dominated the Raptors in the first two games of the series, the Raptors were able to fight back and get a win of their own. The Cavaliers, who previously could do no wrong, are now in a position to let the Raptors, who previously were left for dead, back into the series.

Here’s what we learned from the Cavs’ first postseason loss of 2016.

1. The Cavs can’t win when two members of the Big Three are off.

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were uncharacteristically bad on Saturday night. They combined for only 16 points and were 4 for 28 (14%) from the floor. LeBron had an average (by his standards) 24/5/8, but that wasn’t enough to make up for the other two’s lack of production.

Irving and Love, who have historically been bad defenders, were getting praise for their play on the defensive end. Unfortunately for Cleveland, when their offense went bad, so did the rest of their game. Kyrie couldn’t stay in front of Kyle Lowry or Cory Joseph who both had big games offensively. Love struggled to grab rebounds and should be partly to blame for allowing Bismack Biyombo to grab 26 boards including 8 on the offensive end.

Cleveland has had tremendous play from their Big Three throughout the playoffs. The Big Three’s dominance has been arguably the biggest reason the Cavs hadn’t lost a game up until Saturday night.

The fact that the Big Three combined for only 40 points and were 29% from the field and the Cavs lost shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s not surprising when the Thunder lose when Westbrook and Durant have bad games, and rightfully so. Even a team as deep as the Warriors would have a hard time overcoming bad games from Curry, Thompson, and Green. NBA teams are built around their superstar players and will ultimately go as far as those players take them.

The Cavs are built around LeBron, Kyrie, and Love. At the end of the day, the Cavaliers will only go as far as those three players take them.

2. The Raptors made the necessary adjustments.

Toronto made an effort to lock down the paint in game 3, and it worked. After allowing over 50 points in the paint the first two games of the series, the Cavs were held to just 20 points inside.

Just like the Hawks did the previous series, the Raptors tried to force the Cavs into being a jump shooting team. Unlike the Hawks, this strategy worked for at least one game. Cleveland was only 34% from behind the arc.

Many will point to this game as a reason to believe that the Cavaliers can’t rely on three point shooting to beat good teams, and they’d be right. The biggest reason the Cavs were able to make all of those threes last series was because the success of the Big Three. Without those three dominating the game the Cavs don’t break the records they do.

The Cavs’ supporting cast did not have an off shooting night. Cleveland  was 11 for 25 (44%) from three if you don’t include the Big Three. Those are good numbers from your supporting cast. That stat shows that the thing to take away from this game isn’t that the Cavs are a streaky three point shooting team. Instead, Cleveland can’t win unless the Big Three play well.

3. The Raptors superstars came to play.

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Demar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry bounced back from awful games in Cleveland. They combined for 52 points in game 3 and are the main reason Toronto was able to get back into the series.

Just like any NBA team, the Raptors will go as far as their all-stars take them (are you sensing a theme yet?). DeRozan and Lowry’s success allowed role players like Corey Joseph and Patrick Patterson to have big nights off the bench.

Editor’s Bonus – It is only 1 game. Fans will overreact. Drama on Social Media is to be expected. It is still only 1 game.

The Raptors will have a chance to tie the series up in game 4. The Cavs will need a better game from the Big Three if they want to avoid going back to Cleveland with a tied series.

What did you learn from the Cavs first Playoff loss?