King James Gospel
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Cavs vs Raptors Game 2: What We Learned

By Jackson Flickinger

May 3, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (center) huddles with his team before game two of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
May 3, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (center) huddles with his team before game two of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 3, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during introductions before a game agaisnt the Toronto Raptors in game two of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
May 3, 2017; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) reacts during introductions before a game agaisnt the Toronto Raptors in game two of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

5. The Cavs don’t respect the Raptors at all

Last game, we saw LeBron pick up a beer bottle and pretend to drink it. We also saw Kyrie throw a no-look alley-oop off the backboard to LeBron at the beginning of the game.

There was that same level of disrespect in Game 2.

LeBron was playing around with Serge Ibaka by spinning the ball off of his hand repeatedly before draining a three.

https://twitter.com/DefPenHoops/status/859917767016886272

Kyrie passed up on open layups twice to try to get a highlight dunk for LeBron. One time it didn’t work and LeBron was fouled. The other ended with a thunderous dunk.

The point is, these aren’t things you see in the postseason. Teams don’t pass up on guaranteed baskets or spin the ball on their finger before shooting if they respect their opponent. Cleveland doesn’t fear Toronto at all and it shows.

The Cavs don’t see the Raptors as a threat and their actions show it.