A heated rivalry between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors boiled in the second LeBron James era, and a first-round series in this year's postseason will reignite the feud.
Both teams look entirely different. The last Raptors generation was led by DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, meanwhile the Cavs employed LeBron and Kyrie Irving. Cleveland's new dynamic duo, Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, will offer the biggest threat to the Raptors' Playoff aspirations. Both guards are solidified superstars with a cumulative 18 All-Star appearances between the two.
Toronto knows the challenges of stopping Harden and Mitchell. Since joining forces at the trade deadline, Mitchell and Harden have produced a collective 55 points, 20.1 rebounds and 12.3 assists. Harden's size, veteran experience and skill set gifted the Cavs a constant triple-double threat, and Mitchell's firey offensive power can punish any minute defensive mistake.
The growing belief surrounding the Raptors' approach to thwarting Mitchell and Harden seems to be deploying Barnes and rookie Collin Murray-Boyles on the pair. Both players are some of the most versatile forwards in the NBA on defense. Barnes has locked down a vast array of opponents in his first five seasons in the league, and the rookie Murray-Boyles has emerged as one of Toronto's premier defenders.
Both Barnes and CMB will almost certainly limit their assignment's output, especially in the first games of the series. This same approach which will challenge Cleveland's backcourt will be the same reason the Cavs can easily pick apart their Canadian rival.
The Raptors' defensive plan is incomplete
If Scottie Barnes is on Harden, who is guarding Evan Mobley?
For the majority of matchups between the Cavs and Raptors over recent years, Barnes has defender his fellow 2021 Draftee. While Mobley's defensive prowess earned him the Defensive Player of the Year award last season, Barnes' capabilities have been almost just as good when he is matched with Mobley.
Placing Barnes on Harden could typically mean CMB is guarding Mobley - likely to good success. If Murray-Boyles is guarding Mitchell, the Raptors' defensive options on the Cavaliers' seven-foot star are Brandon Ingram, Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl. Even after settling on Mobley's opponent, Jarrett Allen is still lingering and ready to feast on any mismatch.
The Barnes and CMB assignments do clearly merit concern from the Cavs, especially in pick-and-roll sets. Harden's immediate connection with Allen and Mobley as the PnR maestro was the team's best offensive weapon after The Beard came to Cleveland. Harden dished out dozens of assists to both players, most of which came after the big made a quick roll or cut to the basket.
Assuming Poeltl guards Allen, a switch defense leaves Barnes on Allen and Poeltl on Harden. While Harden might have the advantage on the perimeter, his roller in Allen is probably facing more defensive pressure.
For the Cavs to break the likely Raptors defense, the answer lies in the Cavs' myriad of wing shooters. Unless Toronto benches Quickley for RJ Barrett, the Cavaliers will always have a size advantage somewhere on the court. The Cavaliers might start the Playoffs with Dean Wade at the three spot, leaving another big threat for the Raptors to defend. The 6-foot-9 combo forward has the perfect mix of shooting, backdoor cutting and offensive rebounding to challenge anything Toronto throws at the Cavs.
Additionally, Mobley's assigned defender will likely be Ingram, who poses little threat to Mobley in a post-up or pick-and-roll set. Harden's court vision and quick decision making will feed Mobley in perfect stride. If the Raptors collapse into the paint to offer help against Mobley, a wide-open Mitchell or Wade three-pointer is one quick swing pass away.
As for a Mitchell-centric offensive set, switching either Poeltl or Ingram onto him after a screen gives him a clear path to the rim. Mitchell's elite three-point shooting this season has allowed the 29-year-old star to take full advantage of his quickness and craftiness when driving to the rim. The newly-minted "Spida Step" (or whatever you choose to call it) will almost certainly be a staple of his toolkit if Ingram takes him on.
The Raptors have an advantage in size against the Cavs with Barnes, CMB, Barrett and Ingram. Beyond that, however, the depth, versatility and talent pool in Cleveland overwhelms any variation of lineups and matchups the Raptors could possibly deploy.
Harden, Mitchell, Mobley and Allen will face their first true test as the new-look core in wine and gold. The Cleveland Cavaliers signaled a belief that this was the right year to be pushing in all their chips. The Raptors will provide ample challenge for the backcourt, but that same defensive prowess will only open up a Pandora's Box of other scoring opportunities.
Add us as a preferred source on Google