King James Gospel
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Cavs vs. Raptors Game 1: What We Learned

By Jackson Flickinger

May 1, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) grabs a beer from a vendor during the second half against the Toronto Raptors in game one of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
May 1, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) grabs a beer from a vendor during the second half against the Toronto Raptors in game one of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 1, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) and guard Kyrie Irving (2) celebrate a basket during the second half Toronto Raptors in game one of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
May 1, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) and guard Kyrie Irving (2) celebrate a basket during the second half Toronto Raptors in game one of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Kyrie Irving bounced back nicely from a tough first round.

Irving struggled mightily in the first round. He had a tough time shooting the ball and wasn’t able to get his teammates involved on offense. He had zero assists in Game 4 against the Pacers.

Irving made up for that with a very good game in Game 1 against the Raptors. He finished with 24 points and 10 assists. Including this unbelievable move on Norman Powell.

Aside from the flashy plays, Kyrie did an excellent job of doing all of the little things necessary to win. He did a great job of sharing the ball and not dominating it.

Irving also did a good job of playing good team defense. The Cavs decided to blitz the pick-and-roll and double team Lowry and Derozan when it was appropriate. Kyrie’s willingness to compete on both ends of the floor is a big reason why this strategy worked so well.

The advanced stats tell the story of how well Irving played. He finished with an offensive rating of 125.1, defensive rating of 83.0, assist percentage of 45.5%, usage rate of 28.2%, and true shooting percentage of 60.1%.

The Cavs are a very tough team to beat when Kyrie plays this well on both ends of the floor.

The advanced stats were taken from stats.nba.com.