Raptors Weekly Extra: Game 2 Post-Game Podcast | Raptors Republic
Will and Blake dissect yet another blowout.
Just like in the first game, the Toronto Raptors showed little fight against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2. Hosts William Lou and Blake Murphy discuss the loss, evaluate the sudden lineup change with Luis Scola, deconstruct what’s wrong with Kyle Lowry, and break down what the Raptors need to do in order to steal Games 3 or 4.
Lowry left bench ‘to decompress,’ and other post-game notes | Raptors Republic
I’m not sure how much they’ll lean on it in the finals, but I think the Cavs have really stumbled on something with the Dellavedova-Shumpert-Jefferson-James-Frye (James-plus-reserves, or The James Gang) group early in the second and fourth. It was that group that ran away with Game 1, and they were a plus-five in seven minutes again Thursday. It’s a weird group on paper but it’s a nice mix of offense, defense, secondary ball-handling, passing, and shooting, all around James at the four.
The Cavs starters, by the way, were a plus-17 in 18 minutes, absolutely pasting the Raptors’ new starting lineup (minus-4 in 11 minutes). Scola, by the way, was a minus-13 in 14 minutes, worst among starters in the fewest minutes. The change back didn’t work, but most of us saw that coming. The only really positive group the Raptors had was Lowry-Ross-DeRozan-Patterson-Biyombo, which went on a quick plus-five run, but they never went back to it.
Toronto, A Hope That Remains… | Raptors Republic
Much like it did for to the Raptors, game one kicked my ass too. I entered the game with insane, and likely unrealistic expectations. I hoped that the Raptors would come out guns blazing (which they did) and steal home court away from Cleveland.
It didn’t happen…
Tuesday night was difficult for that reason. What I had hoped would be a competitive series, doesn’t look like it will be after one game. Sure, one game doesn’t make a series, but game one was…convincing.
So I write this as a reminder, to myself more than anyone else: this season has been a monumental success, and nothing that happens this series could change that fact. Despite erring along the way, Toronto is one of the last four teams remaining in the NBA. Nothing that happens from here on out can take that away.
Outside of all their accomplishments to date, there are tangible steps the franchise has taken this season.
Without Kyle Lowry at his very best, Raptors are dead: Arthur | Toronto Star
Look, Cleveland is probably fatal no matter how the Raptors play. LeBron is toying with the game everywhere but at the free-throw line, which is something so few players can even attempt. Toronto’s high bar for this series is winning a game, and a distant dream is winning two. Cleveland won these two games without having to sweat. Without a great Kyle Lowry, the Raptors are already dead. They probably are anyway.
But when Lowry disappears, there’s just no hope, not with Jonas Valanciunas gone and not coming back. The difference between A-list NBA talent and B-list NBA talent is visible on nights like these. LeBron isn’t even looking to take a jump shot in this series, but his titanic body, his needlepoint passing, and his ability to get to the basket mean he can dominate the game anyway. LeBron came in with a chance to pass both Shaquille O’Neal in playoff scoring, and Jason Kidd in playoff assists. He passed Shaq, and Kidd will come. Imagine that. LeBron, and to a far lesser extent Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, can make this game look easy.
Kyle Lowry so rarely makes the game look easy, in April and May. Golden State has Steph Curry. Oklahoma City has Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Cleveland has LeBron. Toronto has Kyle Lowry, and he can be great. But these are the big leagues, and they don’t have nearly enough.
Raptors swallowed up again by the LeBron James ‘Cavalanche’ | Sportsnet.ca
For the second game in a row Toronto did a reasonable job limiting the Cavs’ three-pointers (7-of-21), employing a zone defence at times to do so, but once again the Cavaliers were able to get to the rim too easily. They outscored Toronto in the paint and got 37 free throws to 16 for Toronto. Meanwhile the Raptors were 9-of-33 from three and are 14-of-57 in the series, not a good sign given hot-shooting from deep is usually the best friend of an upset-minded team.
The Raptors started out with some vigour. Scola, getting his first start since Game 4 of the first round, hit a three, DeMar DeRozan (22 points on 18 shots) – who didn’t get to the free throw line in Game 1 – drove to the rim and got fouled.
In all, the Raptors were playing with more force, more will. When Lowry stepped in to take the charge on James coming down the floor at full speed early in the first quarter, it was about as clear a sign of commitment to the cause that is possible. Lowry was called for the blocking foul, but lived, which is more important.
The temperature was turned up. After Kyrie Irving rammed Bismack Biyombo while playing through a couple of his rock-hard screens, the big centre put a forearm to Irving’s chest and scrum ensued, with both players drawing technicals.
And after the Raptors’ role players didn’t deliver much in Game 1, there were early contributions throughout the lineup. Patterson took well to the second unit, responding with a couple of early threes and Terrence Ross came off the bench looking aggressive and decisive – so not much like himself – and had 10 points in eight first-half minutes.
But James continued to present problems that seem unsolvable.
Never mind stopping LeBron James, how do Raptors slow him? | Toronto Sun
Lowry texted Cavaliers coach and longtime mentor Tyronn Lue after Game 1 and asked a favour: Can I come over to your house and watch Game 2 of the West final?
Lue considered the request and decided it wouldn’t appear appropriate if the coach of one team and the star of another team hung out during the Eastern Conference final.
Lue, who Lowry refers to as an uncle or another father figure, has been in touch with the Raptors star often — as usual.
“We’ve been in touch throughout the course of the playoffs,” said Lue. “I talked to him, we’ve had a chance to talk. He wanted to come over last night and watch the game. I’m so happy for him and proud of the player he’s become.”
Lowry has had a rough opening two games in the series. After a weak Game 1, he began Game 2 just as troubled. He had two points at the half with five turnovers. This isn’t anything like he played in the final three games of the Miami series.
Cavs inflict another demoralizing loss on Raptors in Game 2 | Toronto Star
It’s not to say or even hint the Raptors would have stopped the Cavaliers’ post-season winning streak — now at 10 — had they played better or evenly in that late second-quarter onslaught.
But it would inarguably have made the game different and at least have extended the game into the third quarter; but that became moot when the Cavs did not give back the gains they made in the 16-2 spurt and the Raptors weren’t good enough to overcome it.
“Everybody can bury us and put us under but we’re not quitting,” Casey said. “Nobody thought we’d be this far, (we have to) be positive, keep working … we’ve got to come out swinging and believing.”
LeBron James, whose precision passing is wondrous to behold, picked up the 15th triple double of his playoff career — 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists — as the Raptors tried a handful of tactics to get him under control.
A new lineup — Luis Scola as a starter instead of Patrick Patterson — and a variety of new looks on James, far more double teams than in Tuesday’s Game 1, but the disparity between the teams was obvious.
The Cavaliers don’t have those lengthy periods of dubious play — they struggle but they snap out of it more quickly because James is who he is — but it takes longer for Toronto to right itself when things go bad.
Raptors coaches drawing interest around NBA | Toronto Sun
Sources had told the Sun earlier in the playoffs that Kalamian was the most likely of the three to stick in Toronto next season since he was happy with the fit, had earlier ties with Casey (from when they were together in Minnesota) and has enjoyed his time in the city.
Kalamian, Greer and former all-star Jerry Stackhouse came aboard last summer when Casey’s staff was shuffled for the second time in five seasons (Bill Bayno and Tom Sterner were let go and Jesse Mermuys became head coach of the new Raptors 905 NBA Development League affiliate).
ESPN also reported that vice-president of basketball management and strategy Bobby Webster is a candidate for the assistant general manager position in Milwaukee.
Webster was a highly-trumpeted hire out of the NBA office having spent seven years there as a salary cap expert.
Toronto has a team option on Casey for next year. He has gone 210-184 (.533) as head coach and 2-2 in playoff series.
Cavaliers’ roll isn’t all about LeBron | Toronto Star
“When Kyrie and Kevin play at a high level it opens the floor for LeBron,” Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said. “He’s the best player in the world and I believe that, and there’s going to be times where he has to take the game over.
“He’s done that in the first two series a couple times. He understands the bigger picture. The better the team plays and performs, it’s easier for us. Any given night he could go out and score 40 if he had to. But he understands if we’re getting everyone else involved, and everyone’s playing well and everyone has the confidence when we get to the next step that we’re trying to take, everybody will be OK.”
Love only took two threes and the Cavs only made seven to the Raptors’ nine. After using the three so freely in the first two rounds, the game has moved inside somewhat for Cleveland and it’s allowed Love to do damage.
“It was great. We’re going to continue to post Kevin in this series,” Lue said. “We want to be aggressive on the block. We want to play inside and out with Kevin and when he starts inside, it opens up his three-point shot.”
Love has helped open up this series as well, as it shifts back to Toronto for the long weekend, where the Cavs could be bound for the final by holiday Monday.
Cavaliers shove Raptors aside to take control of Eastern final | Toronto Sun
“ You may be seeing something I don’t see,” Casey said after the fourth or fifth question about his team looking defeated and repeated suggestions that they had already given up the fight. “I don’t see quit,” Casey said. “ They beat us two games but it’s not over yet.”
Casey went back to the old adage that until you lose a game at home, a series really hasn’t begun.
That may or may not be true, but right now finding positives from a Toronto standpoint is very tough.
Any indication that the Raptors can turn this around seem far-fetched at this point based on the evidence of the first two games.
We should stop making fun of the Raptors | SBNation.com
The Raptors are far from perfect. The shine has come off the Eastern Conference, in part because Cleveland absolutely trounced the Hawks — who looked like the second-best East team in the regular season’s second half — and because Toronto has struggled with teams seen as inferior.
But injury (DeRozan’s thumb and Lowry’s elbow) can help explain why the Raptors have looked so underwhelming, and let’s not forget that Miami was actually good! Getting into a war with a team so many people were excited to see face Cleveland is no crime. Quality judgments are relative. The Raptors appear to be nowhere nearly as good as the Cavs, but that’s not the only measure of success.
This is a constant problem in sports analysis: we grade on the toughest curve. Championship or failure. It’s an impossible binary standard. The Raptors are not a title team, but this season was still an incredible success. No champion was built in a day, with the exception of the 2008 Boston Celtics.
Raptors not getting much help from refs against Cleveland Cavaliers | Toronto Sun
Two days after Lowry and DeMar DeRozan failed to make a trip to the line between them for the first time as teammates — and even after head coach Dwane Casey had expressed shock about the lack of respect from officials — the whistle was again one-sided.
It wasn’t what sunk his Raptors — the James-Kyrie Irving combination and some disappointing defending did that — but it caused all kinds of problems.
Hanging of heads, for one. There were spurts where the Raptors looked demoralized after some calls didn’t go their way. That can’t happen this deep in the playoffs, even if the players are only human.
To Toronto’s credit, placing any blame on the referees was not on the table post-game.
“We’re not playing our usual attack, gritty, get-to-the-line basketball, and I think that’s going to change (at home),” said James Johnson.
“We just marched them to the free-throw line,” added Casey.
“We have to play defence without fouling, putting them on the free throw line. We can’t let our lack of offence go to the other end and lose our defensive energy … We’re losing some of our zing by missing some shots, missing some looks.”
It was getting just as confusing on the Cleveland end of things. Unhappy with all this winning (or something like that) the local press tried to get coach Tyronn Lue to admit that losing a game might be a morale boost (or something like that).
To his credit, Lue actually laughed out loud at the suggestion: “I’ve never really experienced a wake-up call with a loss.”
His biggest star amplified that sentiment.
“I don’t get when people say you need to lose a game to go through something,” James said. “I think we went through some things.”
If you want an easy way to differentiate where the Raptors and Cavaliers are at the organizational level, this might be it. The Raptors see every loss as a losing opportunity. The Cavs see five bad minutes in the middle of a win in the same way.
The first game had exposed too many weaknesses to correct fully. Casey chose to address one before the tip, shifting forgotten big man Luis Scola back into the starting lineup. The point here was to allow erstwhile starter Patrick Patterson to fall back and bolster the sagging second unit. It was during their minutes late in the first quarter and early in the second that Cleveland had run away with it on Tuesday.
Raptors’ engine is sputtering against Cavs | Toronto Sun
Lowry can score big against Cleveland and it’s possible the Raptors will still lose. The Cavaliers are that special. But the Raps might have a chance with Lowry. They might be in the game in the second half. They might make it close in the final minutes.
It hasn’t been close in two games in Cleveland. It has been man-versus-boy, and in the case of LeBron James, man vs. the rest of the world.
Through eight quarters of basketball in this series, in a game that is so much about back and forth and momentum runs, there hasn’t been a second-half moment of drama, belief, anything that would indicate the Raptors have any kind of chance.
This isn’t the shooting slump Lowry was in early in the playoffs. This isn’t that crisis of confidence. This just seems to be a player out of sorts, trying too hard to score, playing frustrating defence when he isn’t scoring, turning the ball over too often and early, ending up with just three assists.
Running out of time and answers, coach Dwane Casey has no choice but to fight for his leader Lowry, even though he isn’t getting what he needs from his starting point guard.
“He’s our guy,” said Casey, and he’s said the same in other rounds of the playoffs. He knows Lowry might bounce back. But here’s what doesn’t seem to make sense: There’s no knowing when Lowry will heat up, if he still has that left in him this season.
ECF Game 2: Raptors 89, Cavs 108 | Toronto Raptors
CLOSING OUT QUARTERS
After hanging with Cleveland throughout much of the second quarter, things started to unravel when Kyle Lowry went to the bench with 2:35 remaining in the half. Although the score was tied with 4:05 to go in the quarter, the Cavs reeled off a 16-2 run to end the half and lead by 14 at the break.
Raptors learning LeBron’s Cavs are different animal | TSN
They’re running out of time and reasonable cause to believe they can hang with Cleveland, especially if Lowry continues to underwhelm. Their best chance – maybe their only chance – to even steal a game rests on his shoulders. He needs to be at his best or pretty close to it. On the other end of the spectrum, James is as safe a bet as they come. He smells blood in the water which, as it usually does, means trouble for the team in his way.
“Well, I mean, it’s always difficult to deal with me,” said James, who clearly isn’t lacking in the confidence department. “I think it adds even more when you have two All-Stars with you, two guys that command multiple eyes every possession. They’re in such a great rhythm right now, I’ve been able to just pick my spots and do other things to help us try to win ballgames while those guys take the load. Tonight was an example of them giving me a little bit more space, and I just tried to make some plays.”
That he did. The Raptors have gotten up on him, they’ve given him space, they’ve played him in single coverage, they’ve doubled, they’ve tried everything and it hasn’t come close to being enough. James didn’t even attempt his second shot until early in the second quarter, by that time he already had six assists. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love combined for 45 points on 30 shots, thanks in large part to the play making prowess of James, while the King passed Shaquille O’Neal for fourth on the NBA’s all-time postseason scoring list, behind only Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – who was in the building for Game 2 – and Michael Jordan.
Does he get the credit he deserves? Probably not. A two-time champion, his legacy will continue to be debated until and unless he’s able to match, or at least come closer to, Jordan’s six rings. After winning a couple with the Heat, he’s on a mission to bring a title to Cleveland.
“Look, he’s a great player,” Casey said. “I don’t know how many more adjectives I can give him. He’s a great player, he’s playing great, he’s assisting, but I’m more concerned about the Toronto Raptors. They’re a great team and we respect them, but we’re here to win. We’re not here to increase his legacy, we’re trying to take his legacy. We’re trying to win.”
More and more, the Raptors appear to be a footnote on his journey.
HQ Overtime Post-Game Show: Let’s talk about LeBron | Raptors HQ
LeBron James had a triple-double, the Raptors collapsed again, and this series is 2-0 as we head to the Air Canada Centre. I’m joined by Sean Woodley to discuss LeBron, the decision to start Luis Scola, foul disparity, and the new physical identity that the Raptors tried to dictate tonight.
There’s one question that will determine the length of this series:
Will Toronto get someone, anyone, to step up and help Lowry and DeRozan?
In both the regular season and early in the postseason, prior to a severe ankle injury that has sidelined him since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, 7-footer Jonas Valanciunas was the answer.
The bully inside provided the Raptors with an outlet, someone to relieve pressure from Lowry and DeRozan, and most importantly, an offensive-minded player who threatens a defense.
“Well, it’s different because he gives them a post presence,” Lue said of Valanciunas’ absence. “I think when the jump shots are not going or certain guys are struggling then you can slow the game down and post Valanciunas, who’s a great low-post player. Also he’s great on the offensive glass. So just a big body that can post the basketball and gives them a different look offensively.”
Some teams are equipped to overcome the loss of a player averaging 15.0 points and 12.1 rebounds in the postseason. The scoring-challenged Raptors aren’t. Not against the Cavs.
Without Valanciunas, the Cavs’ defensive game plan is simple: protect the paint and hone in on Toronto’s All-Star tandem, keeping them off the free-throw line.
Bismack Biyombo has replaced Valanciunas in the starting lineup and while Biyombo has provided endless energy, physicality, hustle and defense, he’s a non-factor offensively.
He scored three points in Game 2.
The Raptors appeared to adjust for Game 2 by playing more physical on the perimeter. DeMarre Carroll was very active with his hands, and appeared to want to at least make James feel him. It didn’t matter to the result, but the Cavs got there in a different way. He hadn’t been getting to the free throw line, but did tonight. While James only made nine of them, 17 attempts is more in line with what you’d expect.
LeBron James came into Game 2 averaging 37.7 minutes per game, the lowest in the playoffs of his career. He played 34 tonight. His usage rate is a fraction of what it was a year ago when Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were hobbled for much of the playoffs. Ty Lue mentioned after the game that he understands what it’s like to be on the other end of this East dominance. He coached with Doc Rivers in Boston and saw that Celtics team last big run ended by LeBron James’ Miami Heat. He said it was devastating.
It looks like the sixth straight year of devastation.
Cavaliers 108, Raptors 89: LeBron’s triple-double powers Game 2 victory | Akron Beacon Journal
The Cavs scored 16 of the final 18 points in the first half after the game was tied at 46 with 4:05 left in the second quarter. The Raptors missed their last nine shots of the half and each member of the Cavs’ Big Three took turns extending the lead.
Lowry again struggled through a miserable shooting night, missing seven of his first eight shots before finally making a 3-pointer with 8:31 left in the third quarter. He was 5-of-20 shooting in this series prior to that basket, including missing his first 11 3-point attempts. He didn’t attempt his first three throws in this series until the fourth quarter Thursday.
The Cavs continue to storm through the East with little resistance. While the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder continue to fight in the West, the Cavs are winning playoff games by an average of more than 12 points. Whether that makes the East weak or the Cavs just that dominant, coach Tyronn Lue doesn’t really care.
“You’ve got to play who’s in front of you every single night. Whether they call the East weak or not, we’ve got to beat these teams,” he said. “These teams have beaten a lot of West Coast teams throughout the regular season, so I don’t care what they say. We know we have something we’re trying to accomplish, and the East right now is where we’re at. Until we get to the West, we can’t do anything about that.”
NBA Playoffs 2016: Cavs crush Raptors to claim 2-0 lead | Fear The Sword
For the first eight minutes of the second quarter, it looked as if the Cavs were in for a fight, but that changed quickly. During the final four minutes of the second, the Cavs separated from the Raptors, going on a 14-2 run and holding the Raptors to 0-9 shooting from the field. LeBron led all scorers at the half with 17 while Kevin Love had 15 and Kyrie chipped in 12. Thanks to the stretch of dominance to close the quarter the Cavs headed to the locker with a 62-48 lead, a lead they would not relinquish.
LeBron James: A ‘better’ player because of Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love? | cleveland.com
“I don’t know how many more adjectives I can give him,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “He’s a great player, he’s playing great. He’s assisting. I’m more concerned about the Toronto Raptors. They’re a great team and we respect them, but, again, we’re here to win.
“We’re not here to increase his legacy or anything like that. We’re trying to take his legacy.”
The Raptors probably won’t be taking much of anything in this series. Outscored by 50 points in the two games, the Raptors now host a Cavs team led by James, who has won at least one road game in 24 consecutive series.
Toronto has been handicapped by the ankle injury of 7-footer Jonas Valanciunas, who has yet to play. Without him in the middle, the Raptors have virtually no one to whom Carroll can funnel James to make it tougher for him to get to the room – a must when trying to defend James.
Teams sometimes try to send two defenders at James any time he catches the ball below the foul-line extended, but he almost always finds the open man.
In the Finals last June, the Warriors gave James some room to shoot, as long as it was outside the lane. And they suffocated his teammates, especially along the perimeter, while Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving watched with injuries.
Through 10 games this postseason, James has taken nearly 54 percent of his shots from inside of 5 feet – easily the highest percentage of close-range shots during the playoffs in his career. He’s shooting 52.5 percent, the second-highest in 11 playoff runs.
Love scored nine points in the first quarter on 3-of-5 from the field, helping the Cavs to a two-point lead. Once again, the bulk of the offense came in the paint, as the Raptors stayed connected to perimeter shooters. The Cavs scored 14 of their 30 first-quarter points inside.
Love continued his quality play throughout the game, taking advantage of mismatches and demanding the ball in the post. He finished with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Cleveland’s Big Three — Love, James and Kyrie Irving — combined to score 62 points in the first three quarters, only seven fewer than Toronto as a team. The trio finished with 68 on the night.
One of the questions coming into the conference finals centered on whether someone could step up for the Raptors and take some of the scoring load off the shoulders of Lowry and DeRozan. It’s been two games in this series and Toronto has yet to find an answer.
Without Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto’s third-leading scorer in the postseason who is averaging a double-double, the Cavs have been able to lock in on Toronto’s All-Star backcourt, sending multiple bodies in their direction, keeping them from getting comfortable.
But now the Big Three are healthy, the ball moves from side to side or from the inside out, and Lue’s intentions have become realities. The Cavs finished with 24 assists on 38 baskets, just missing their goal of 25.
It’s easy to talk about ball movement, but the most dominant ball-handler has to buy into it. Mike D’Antoni had the Offense of Tomorrow early in this century with unselfish point guard Steve Nash in Phoenix. The ball had brakes on it in Los Angeles with Kobe Bryant and in New
Now the team has struck a balance of power that brings out the best in each of their biggest names.
Irving is first on the team in scoring, 3-pointers made, 3-point percentage, and second in assists. Love is first in rebounding, third in scoring, third (barely, behind specialist J.R. Smith) in 3-pointers made and 3-point percentage.
James is first in assists, second in scoring and rebounding and working on it in the 3-point categories.
Much of the Same. Cavs Win Game 2 108-89 | Raptors HQ
Consider the following dualities: The Cavaliers had 50 points in the paint to the Raptors’ 28. They shot 50% from the field to the Raptors’ 40%. The Cavs’ three-point attack machine we were so worried about coming into this series hasn’t even been taken out of the toolbox. Not a single player on the Raptors had a positive +/-. All of the Cavs, save for Shumpert, were a positive. Lowry shot 4-14 for 10 points. DeRozan shot 8-18 for 22. Kevin Love had 19 points on 8 shots. Kyrie had a better-than-it-sounds 26 points. LeBron registered a triple double. This was a massacre of the highest order once again.
There’s no joy in being negative about where things currently stand. To be so woefully outmatched in the playoffs, after Detroit and Atlanta at least showed flashes of success against Cleveland, is ultimately disappointing. Maybe a trip home changes things. The ACC has been the Raptors’ safe haven during this playoff run, and that’s what we have to bank on now.
The Raptors are troubled on all fronts. It hasn’t just been an issue of coaching. It hasn’t just been an issue of effort. It isn’t just the offence and it isn’t just the defence. Maybe the most harrowing reality the Raptors are faced with is that the Cavaliers are just frankly better.
Toronto Raptors blown out once again in Cleveland | Raptors Cage
Defence: C
The Raptors were being outworked on the defensive end. The Cavs ended the game shooting 50 per cent from the field. Cleveland’s ball movement proved too troublesome for the Raptors defense; Cleveland ended the game with 24 assists (compared to Toronto’s 17).
As said before, the second quarter proved to be where the Cavaliers took control of an otherwise close game. The Raptors were able to keep up at the start of the game, but once Cleveland started their scoring run, both Toronto’s defence and offence were stifled for the remainder of the game.
Kyle Lowry of Toronto Raptors says early 1st-half exit was to ‘decompress’ | ESPN
“Just to kind of decompress, get back there, kind of relax my body and relax my mind,” Lowry said. “And knowing that we had a chance to kind of make some things [happen], I wanted to get myself going and get my teammates going and get the team going. It was nothing more than just kind of to decompress, breathe and get back out.”
Lowry said this wasn’t the first time he had gone back to the locker room to decompress during his 10-year NBA career.
“Yeah, I’ve done it plenty of times,” he said. “It’s just now with the magnitude of the situation, it shows a little bit more.”
For the series, Lowry has scored 18 points, shot 1-for-15 from 3-point range and committed more turnovers (nine) than assists (eight). The Raptors trail the Cavaliers 2-0 in the Eastern Conference finals. Game 3 is Saturday night in Toronto.
Raptors offense lags badly in Eastern Conference finals | NBA.com
The Raptors have shot 37 percent (8-for-36 from 3-point range) over the second, third and fourth quarters. The Cavs have given DeRozan less space, jumpers have stopped falling, and Toronto’s inability to get to the basket and to the free throw line has made things worse.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey said after Thursday’s loss that his team’s 33 3-point attempts was “probably too many.”
“There are some alleys we can take to get to the paint and then kick it out for 3s,” Casey said. “But we’re settling a little bit too much, which is not good for us.”
The absence of Jonas Valanciunas is a factor. Though he had two quiet offensive games against Cleveland in the regular season, he did hurt the Cavs on the glass and was playing his best basketball before spraining his ankle in Game 3 of the conference semifinals. He would give Toronto a go-to offensive option and would make Cleveland think twice about playing its most potent lineups with either Kevin Love or Channing Frye at center.But it appears doubtful that Valanciunas will play in this series and Kyle Lowry’s struggles have hurt even more. The Raptors scored 111 points per 100 possessions (better than all but four of the Cavs’ opponents) against Cleveland in the regular season, in part because Lowry averaged 31.0 points on 66 percent shooting over the three games.
James records triple-double as Cavs dominate, take 2-0 series lead | USA Today
The Raptors were better in Game 2 than they were in Game 1, and it was still a 19-point defeat. Raptors coach Dwane Casey went with a different lineup, starting Luis Scola in place of Patrick Patterson in attempt to give the bench a lift.
The injury to Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas has thinned Toronto’s depth with Bismack Biyombo starting at center.
“We’re going to change some things, just to make sure we have a balance in certain situations with our injury (to) Jonas (Valanciunas),” Casey said before Game 2. “We’ll adjust that a little bit as far as to see where we can get a little bit more balanced into the first, into the second (units).”
That lineup change gave Toronto’s bench a boost. Forward-guard Terrence Ross (11 points), guard Cory Joseph (11 points) and forward James Johnson (11 points) led a solid performance off the bench, but the starters struggled.
Toronto guard Kyle Lowry’s inconsistent postseason continue with a 4-of-14 game from the field. In two games, he is 8-of-28 from the field, including 1-of-15 on three-pointers. Toronto needs more from Lowry if it is going to win in Toronto.
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