Not to be dramatic or anything. But…[insert deep 90’s cinematic trailer voice]

This.

Is.

It.

No more going back to drawing boards. No starting at square ones. No taking extra breaths of fresh air.

The charge towards the Play[offs]-In starts (or ends😬) tonight.

The loss to the New York Knicks was unfortunate. But sometimes a game is as fated as a fresh piece of timber facing a lone-standing buzzsaw…Bzzzzzzzz…

Those lumps are inevitable in an NBA season – and in sports, generally – when high-flying momentum teams are insurmountable.

You take the loss and move on.

The problem, though: the Toronto Raptors are out of mulligans. The trials and tribulations of the last six weeks are justly absolved. But now an eentzy-teentzy-itzy-bitzy margin of error remains.

After tonight, Toronto travels the basketball equivalent of the Stonecutters’ crossing-the-desert, what-we-call-the-unblinking-eye, and the paddling-of-the-swollen-ass-with-paddles ritual.

They host Brooklyn, travel to Denver, Utah, LA x2, and host two fellow Play[offs]-In scramblers, Washington and Memphis, before welcoming a heavy-wooden-paddle Clippers team to Tampa.

That’s purple-ass-potential.

The Skinny

It’s the rubber match for two Eastern Conference spelunkers.

In the first bout, the Raptors were entirely discombobulated. OG, Siakam, and FVV were still recovering from COVID, all VERY TALL Raptors (2) played a combined 27 minutes and were a total -18, and Norman and Lowry were burning fumes after hefting the bulk of scoring the last several weeks. It was an untimely and sore streak of games for the Raps.

Oh, ya, and the bench stunk – in the first three quarters, they scored 13 points, the Cavs: 25.

In the second go-around – other than a crud third quarter – the Raptors redeemed their woeful ways and eviscerated the Cavs. Recently-ingratiated Gary Trent Jr. hit the peak of his astronomical heater lighting the Cavs up for 44 on 17/19 shooting.

Here’s that magic to relive:

Malachi Flynn had THE “breakout game” with 20 points and 11 assists. The grindy triumvirate of Bembry, Yuta, and Stanley, gave the Raptors that desperately needed roleplayer punch, and “New Freddy” and his double-barrelled arms enamoured us all with his burliness in the middle.

Cleveland wasn’t healthy for the thumping either though, missing bigs Larry Nance Jr. and Jarrett Allen. All season, injuries have plagued them too. They’ve lost many a man-game this year.

NBA injury plot. Games missed by injured players versus team wins. Bubble size represents cumulative quality of players lost (Lost-ws metric) https://t.co/NPlbajDRdm pic.twitter.com/9qjup1gIO9
— Man Games Lost NBA (@ManGamesLostNBA) April 21, 2021

Still, it’s not been a lost season. Expectations for Cleveland were low. Their roster an unkempt garden of old-growth and new blooms, all in the name of player development. There’s been progress, to the relief of General Manager, Koby Altman.

Over the past fifteen games, for guards with at least 25% usage rates, the Cavs’ third and second-year guards, Collin Sexton and Darius Garland are fourth and seventh in true shooting percentage. Garland is fourth in assist percentage and Sexton third in turnover ratio. Small they may be, but they’re, together, growing into a threatening offensive backcourt.

Come game three, both teams have a clearer picture of how they want this unique season to end.

For Cleveland, Play-In chances exist in another dimension – they blew a fourth-quarter lead to the Washington Wizards last night (THANKS A LOT, CLEVELAND!). This is about evaluating lineups and fostering the talent they have for the near and distant future – and finding an enviable 2021 draft position.

For Toronto, it’s the culmination of a hard road traveled. They are healthy-ish and almost rotation-ready. Their bench is producing more consistently (though not against NYK) and the centre positions are set – as I discussed on Friday.

The starters also look fit and polished. FVV was his old vleet-of-voot self on Saturday zooming up and down the court, haranguing NYK guards, and pulling up with reliable lift. Siakam’s playmaking, of recent, has grown again, looking more patient and decisive. And, OG is, well, dialed the F in at both ends.

If it weren’t for Kyle going 1/10 and the bench scoring a piddly 11 points, I’d venture to say the Knicks game may have ended in Toronto’s favour. I’m really getting Force vibes that the Raps are ready to mind-trick some late-season W’s.

They didn’t Saturday, they have to tonight. The Raptors have the third most difficult strength of schedule remaining, according to tankathon.com.

This [insert deep 90’s cinematic trailer voice] is a must-win.

There are no excuses left.

Game Info

Tip-Off: 7:30 pm EDT | TV: TSN4; BSOH; TSN | Radio: Sportsnet Fan 590

Raptors Lineup

Boucher (left knee) and Paul Watson (left knee) are out. Jalen Harris (right hip) is questionable. Rodney Hood (right hip) is probable.

PG: Kyle Lowry, Malachi Flynn

SG: Fred VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr

SF: OG Anunoby, DeAndre’ Bembry, Stanley Johnson

PF: Pascal Siakam, Khem Birch, Yuta Watanabe

C: Freddie Gillespie, Aron Baynes

Cavs Lineup

Dylan Windler (patellar tendinopathy) is out. Collin Sexton (concussion) missed last night’s game in Washington and is questionable. Watch for rests, too, this being the latter of a back-to-back.

PG: Darius Garland, Matthew Dellavedova, Quinn Cook

SG: Isaac Okoro, Damyean Dotson, Broderic Thomas

SF: Taurean Prince, Cedi Osman

PF: Kevin Love, Larry Nance Jr., Dean Wade, Lamar Stevens, Mfiondu Kabengele

C: Jarrett Allen, Isaiah Hartenstein