The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Indiana Pacers last week and knocked them out of the playoffs. Last night we seen the CAVS take on the Toronto Raptors. There was a lot of missed calls, shoving, cursing, booing, and angry plays as the CAVS faced an hostile crowd in the Raptors arena. The CAVS were in the Raptors territory. A hostile environment as the stadium boo’d loudly every time LeBron stepped up to shoot his free throws. Then the shoving match began with VanVleet grabbing and hanging onto LeBrons arm. Well, LeBron wasn’t having it so we seen him shove VanVleet a good one and VanVleet started walking closer to LeBron and running his mouth as 8 of his teammates came to his rescue (as if VanVleet was really going to do anything other then run his big mouth to someone who is twice his size) LeBron rarely reacts to ignorance so something must have really made him mad to even acknowledge that little pip squeak.
The entire game the Raptors had the lead. Then all of a sudden, as if my prayers were answered, the CAVS began to do something that they struggled with the entire season. They started hitting their 3 point shots and they played defense. JR Smith and Kyle Korver started knocking down the 3’s in the final quarter and the CAVS blocked the Raptors and prevented them from making those points in the paint. The Raptors are pretty good at scoring in the paint. They score better in the paint then they do with their 3 point shots. As the CAVS finally wake up in the fourth quarter, LeBron’s famous fadeaway ties it up and they went into overtime.
So where did the Raptors go wrong in the tie breaker final minutes? They double teamed LeBron and left all of the three point shooters wide open. The one awesome thing about the CAVS is they have some pretty decent 3 point shooters. When you have JR Smith, Kyle Korver, and Kevin Love out with LeBron James, it can be a lot to defend. I have noticed the Pacers always double teamed LeBron and it seemed as if the Raptors were doing the same. While LeBron is being doubled on, he passes the ball to any of the other three big 3 point shooters and the shots were fired. CAVS won the first game against the Raptors.
But…..LeBron is tired. We seen just how tired LeBron was last night. LeBron has been playing an extreme amount of minutes in the playoffs and having to score in the 40’s just to get a win. Last night we seen LeBron play 46 minutes and make 26 points, 13 assists, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 steal . However, he attempted eight 3 point shots and only landed one, shot the ball 30 times and made it in the hoop 12 times. Even though he made another amazing triple double last night, he was struggling. LeBron is tired. It will be interesting to see how well he plays in the next few games with the Raptors.
The CAVS have defeated the Raptors in the last 7 games including last years playoffs and this regular season and first game in this years playoffs. The Raptors are the number one team in the Eastern conference but for some reason the CAVS can outplay them. Somehow they come on top in every game in the 4th quarter.
Now the big question is, can the CAVS defeat the Raptors in 4 games and advance into the playoffs? A lot of bets are on the CAVS simply because they have LeBron. I don’t know how LeBron continues to play as if he is 22 years old in his 15th season but his stats this year are even better than last years. Pretty amazing.
All eyes are on LeBron now as he continues to play hard for his 4th championship ring and without the one guy who he knew he could count on every single night Kyrie Irving. He has made it this far without Kyrie, so I think I can safely say now, LeBron is super human.
You can catch round two with CAVS facing the Raptors tomorrow at 6pm Eastern time. Can LeBron lead the CAVS to a victory? Let’s hope JR continues his 3 point shots and Tristian Thompson plays more minutes. LETS GO CAVS!
ChristinaAlexander 