Up 2-0 in the East Finals, have the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors and their fans?
We continue to go Behind Enemy Lines to get a feel for how Raptors fans are handling the beat down coming from the Cavs. Raptors Rapture has been kind enough to continue to talk to us despite how badly our Cavs are taking out their Raptors.
Are most recent conversation after Game 2:
– Kyle Lowry has been non-existent during the series but two stories have come out that are really interesting. What are your thoughts, and fans general feeling, about the following:
Lowry left the bench before halftime to blow off some steam in the locker room, therein being unavailable to sub in –
Kyle has been dreadful this series so far. The Raptors need all hands on deck to have any hope of defeating the Cavaliers. Losing Jonas Valanciunas during the Miami series was bad enough, but with Kyle missing from everywhere, the Raptors offense is running on fumes. He’s never done a bunk like this before, so although it was an alarming stunt, I’m prepared to give him a mulligan.
Lowry called Cavs coach Tyronn Lue to hang out to watch the Warriors/Thunder game at Lue’s house –
“There’s less here than meets the eye.” I suspect this was just a txt, probably with a wink emoticon, between friends that became public. I’m paying this story no mind.
– The Raptors have a lot of talent but are missing THE guy. Is there a thought/sense about blowing it up in the near future?
Superstars are in perpetually short supply. The only one the Raptors have ever had was Vince Carter; Tracy McGrady didn’t fully mature until after he left Toronto.
There’s been no “vibe” emanating from GM Masai Ujiri or anyone on his staff that the core group is on a “win or bust” campaign. That might have been foreseeable had they dropped either earlier playoff series, but here they are in the EC Finals. I think the brains trust would prefer to see if there’s a stud available at #9 in the draft. Given they also have the #27 pick, perhaps they could trade up by offering both picks to Boston who has #3?
So – No to a loud explosion from north of the border this summer, BUT if the Raptors are 19-19 in January, all bets are off.
– The first 2 games haven’t been close so Big V wouldn’t have changed the outcome but how much might he have changed the score difference?
Jonas Valanciunas’ scoring has a large impact. Instead of the Raptors having little to no inside presence, Lowry could dump the ball to JV in the low post where he does really fine work. At that point, the Cavs would counter with Timofey Mozgov, who I think is a useful player but probably stunts their offensive flow.
JV means both games are 10 points closer. However, he’s foul-prone, and the zebras are calling everything.
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– Finish this statement: The Raptors can feel good about themselves, even though they lose the series, if….
…they finally show their true character. You haven’t seen the Raptors in full bloom. When Lowry is hitting, DeRozan’s life gets much easier. It’s no wonder those two often enjoy 20+ point nights in the same game.
They also are not forcing turnovers. If they start to do that, we could have a series yet.
Finally, if Terrence Ross actually plays one or more games with his columns full. He’s capable of 15 points, 5 boards, 3 steals, 2 blocks (yes!) but hasn’t shown it.
Down 2 – 0 in the East Finals, Raptors fans are not totally defeated… Yet! Are you surprised?