The Toronto Raptors are on a high after winning their first ever game in the conference finals and being the first team this post-season to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers. Coming into the season, accumulating four wins in the first round was said to be a positive goal after the Raptors failed to win one post-season game a year ago. Now the Raptors are three wins away from the NBA Finals. Game 4 at home is crucial. If Toronto ties up the series on Monday anything can happen; if they go down 3-1, it’s a deficit few teams have ever come back from.
Raptors’ keys to the game
Get DeMar going
Kyle Lowry is often referenced as the Raptors’ Most Valuable Player but in the post-season Toronto goes as DeRozan goes, or more accurately as he scores. The Raptors are 5-0 when DeRozan scores 25-plus points and just 4-8 when he falls under that number. Don’t be surprised if the offence runs through DeRozan early and often again in Game 4 as it did in Game 3. DeRozan recorded his ninth 25-point playoff game, passing Vince Carter for the most in Raptors franchise history — even more impressive when you consider 22 of 24 of his shots in Game 3 were contested. He’s going to need a few more 25-plus performances to keep this series competitive.
DeRozan 25-plus points in 2016 playoffs | ||
---|---|---|
Game | Points | Result |
Game 5 vs. Indiana | 34 | Win |
Game 7 vs. Indiana | 30 | Win |
Game 5 vs. Miami | 34 | Win |
Game 7 vs. Miami | 28 | Win |
Game 3 vs. Cleveland | 32 | Win |
Offensive efficiency from deep
The Raptors were very efficient offensively in Game 3, scoring 99 points on 83 shots. That was because the Raptors got and made clean looks from three-point range. Toronto shot 14-of-41 from three in the first two games and connected on 12-of-31 in Game 3. When Lowry, DeMarre Carroll, Patrick Patterson and Cory Joseph are looking for threes in transition and making the extra pass Toronto goes from an average offence to a prominent one.
Cavaliers’ keys to the game
Three is better than two
Lowry and DeRozan outscored the Cavaliers’ big three of Kevin Love, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James 52-40 after they averaged a combined 29 points in the first two games. There are five real difference makers in this series, guys who can take over a game or even win it by themselves. James will consistently be a factor but thus far the series has swung on how those other four players have performed. For Cleveland, Love and Irving can’t have a negative impact both offensively and defensively in the same game. They don’t have enough secondary scoring and depth to overcome their stars’ poor performances.
Raptors Player to watch: Bismack Biyombo
The energy and intensity at both ends comes from Bismack Biyombo. Biyombo’s 26 rebounds in Game 3 were the most in a conference finals game since Wilt Chamberlain had 30 in 1973 and the most in a playoff game by player younger than 24 since Moses Malone in 1977. Biyombo is key because when he’s active he forces the Cleveland coaching staff into tough decisions. If they play small with Love or Channing Frye at the five Biyombo will own the boards. If they play Tristan Thompson at the five their offence and spacing suffers. Biyombo closing possessions and getting Toronto second chance opportunities is paramount to its success.
Most rebounds in a playoff game since playoffs expanded in 1984 | ||
---|---|---|
Player | Game | Rebounds |
Bismack Biyombo | May 21, 2016 vs. Cleveland | 26 |
Dwight Howard | April 24, 2015 at Dallas | 26 |
Hakeem Olajuwon | April 30, 1988 at Dallas | 26 |
Tim Duncan | May 14, 2002 at L.A. Lakers | 25 |
Hakeem Olajuwon | May 14, 1987 at Seattle | 25 |
Cavaliers players to watch: Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love
This was not only the Cavs’ first playoff loss this year, this was Cleveland’s first playoff loss with the big three healthy. Love, James and Irving are now 14-1 in the post-season. The poor play of Irving and Love specifically is a big reason why Toronto is now back in the series — Irving and Love combined for their worst field goal percentage (14.3%) after going 4-of-28 in Game 3. Lowry and Joseph played suffocating defence on Irving, who took 16 contested shots. Love was struggling so bad on both ends that he was benched for then entire fourth quarter. The Cavs’ two offensive stalwarts have to stay productive offensively to stay on the floor.
Key Stat: Throughout the playoffs Lowry and DeRozan have been much better at home. The difference has been even more pronounced in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Lowry and DeRozan bounce back | ||
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Games 1 and 2 | Game 3 | |
Points per game | 29 | 52 |
Field goal percentage | 39.7 | 51.4 |
Three point field goals | 1/16 | 4/9 |