Poll: Toronto Raptors Vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Although there’s plenty of intrigue among the NBA’s four Conference Semifinal matchups this spring, most of those series look like they have clear favorites.
A panel of nearly two-dozen ESPN experts unanimously selected the Rockets and Warriors to earn spots in the Western Conference Finals by defeating the Jazz and Pelicans, respectively. Utah and New Orleans looked great in the first round and could still give the favorites a run for their money, but their Game 1 performances didn’t inspire a ton of confidence.
In the East, ESPN’s panel heavily favors the Sixers over the Celtics in the first of two Eastern Conference series. If Kyrie Irving and/or Gordon Hayward were healthy, this would be a more fascinating matchup, but as well-coached as the Celtics are, they may not have the talent to keep up with Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid for seven games. Despite holding home court advantage, Boston enters the series as a major underdog, with 18 of 21 ESPN experts picking the 76ers to win.
That leaves one series, the Raptors vs. the Cavaliers, as a potential toss-up. The analytics data – along with each team’s performance in the regular season and first round – favors the Raptors, but history favors the Cavs. After all, Cleveland has eliminated Toronto in each of the past two postseasons, winning eight of 10 games over the Raptors in those two series.
There’s reason to believe that this year’s Raptors squad can end that streak. The club is deeper than ever, featuring the NBA’s best five-man bench unit. Additionally, star guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have bought into an offensive system that features more ball movement and less isolation play. That system has been a huge success all season long, including against the Cavs — the Raps averaged nearly 123 points per game vs. Cleveland in three regular season contests.
Still, the Cavs won two of those three games during the regular season. While LeBron James‘ play keyed those victories – particularly in a 35-point, 17-assist, 0-turnover performance in March – Cleveland’s supporting cast came up big too. Kevin Love, Jose Calderon, and Jeff Green played particularly well in the Cavs’ two wins over Toronto, and George Hill racked up 22 points in March’s game. If Cleveland’s role players can keep up that sort of production against the Raps in the postseason, it would take a huge load off James, who carried the team to a first-round win.
This will be a fascinating series to watch. Does LeBron still have Toronto’s number? Will he get more help vs. Toronto than he did against Indiana? Will the Raptors’ home-court advantage be a deciding factor? (Both of their regular-season losses to the Cavs came in Cleveland).
ESPN’s experts favor the Cavs by a 12-7 margin, but the oddsmakers at Bovada.lv view the Raptors as a 2-to-1 favorite. Which side do you fall on? Is this the year the Raps dethrone the King and end James’ streak of seven straight NBA Finals appearances, or will LeBron and the Cavs eliminate Toronto for a third straight season?
Vote below in our poll, then jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
Norman Powell Not A Factor In Raptors' Postseason Play
- While Norman Powell was a key player for the Raptors in the postseason last year, he has gone from X-factor to ex-factor, Dave Feschuck of the Toronto Star writes.
Jason Kidd Won’t Get Second Interview With Suns
8:18pm: There are two new names to add to the Suns’ coaching search, according to Scott Bordow of The Arizona Republic (Twitter link). The team had talks this week with Toronto assistant Nick Nurse and Pelicans associate head coach Chris Finch.
8:00pm: The Suns have completed their first round of coaching interviews, and Jason Kidd is among the candidates who have been eliminated, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 in Phoenix. He adds that the organization is currently informing all the interviewees of their current status.
Phoenix wrapped up the first stage of its coaching search this week, talking to ex-Hornets head coach Steve Clifford today and Spurs assistant James Borrego on Thursday.
Kidd has a 183-190 record in four and a half seasons as head coach of the Nets and Bucks. He took Milwaukee to the playoffs twice before being fired in January with a 23-22 mark. The newly elected Hall of Famer spent five seasons in Phoenix during his playing career.
Fred VanVleet Cleared For Game 6
- The Raptors will have guard Fred VanVleet available for tonight’s Game 6 with the Wizards, Lewenberg tweets. VanVleet has been limited to three minutes in the series because of soreness in his shoulder stemming from a collision on the final night of the season. “I don’t know what to expect,” said coach Dwane Casey, “but we’ll get him in.”
Otto Porter Undergoes Leg Procedure, Out Indefinitely
3:01pm: The Wizards have issued a press release confirming that Porter underwent the procedure detailed below, calling it a “left lower leg fasciotomy for compartment syndrome.” According to the team, it was necessary in order to prevent permanent damage to the muscles in Porter’s leg. He’ll be out “indefinitely.”
2:25pm: Wizards forward Otto Porter is undergoing a procedure on his injured left leg today, reports Candace Buckner of The Washington Post (Twitter link). According to Buckner, the procedure will address a build-up of blood flow in the area of Porter’s leg contusion.
As a result of the procedure, Porter will miss Game 6 of the Wizards’ first-round series against the Raptors on Friday night, and will also remain sidelined if the series goes to a Game 7, per Buckner. It’s not clear whether Porter would be able to return at a later date in the postseason if Washington were to advance.
Porter underwent an MRI on his troublesome left leg today, at which point the decision was made to move forward with the procedure to address the build-up around the bone bruise, tweets Buckner.
Porter, who appeared in 77 games for the Wizards this season, was one of the team’s key contributors, averaging 14.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 2.0 APG with an impressive .503/.441/.828 shooting line in the first season of his new four-year, maximum-salary contract. However, the 24-year-old hasn’t looked like himself in the playoffs as he has dealt with his leg issue — Porter didn’t score more than 12 points in any of the first five games vs. Toronto.
Community Shootaround: Game 6 Predictions
After the Pelicans, Rockets, Warriors, and Sixers won their respective opening-round series in either four or five games, the first Game 6 of this year’s postseason took place on Thursday night, with the Bucks holding home court against the Celtics to push their series to a Game 7.
On Friday night, three more series will play a Game 6, so we want to hear your thoughts and predictions on tonight’s matchups.
In the East, the Cavaliers will look to close out the Pacers in Indiana to advance to the second round. The series has been a back-and-forth affair, featuring several close games and each team picking up a win in the other club’s building. Cleveland’s supporting cast has been somewhat underwhelming and George Hill remains questionable with a back injury, but if LeBron James keeps playing like he did in Game 5 (44 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists), it might not matter.
It’ll be interesting to see if Victor Oladipo can bounce back from an underwhelming Game 5. Since he scored 32 points in the series opener, Oladipo has seen his scoring output decline in each game, all the way down to 12 points in Game 5. His field-goal percentage has dipped in every game too, culminating in a 2-for-15 showing on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in the East, the Wizards will host the Raptors and look to avoid elimination in D.C. The home team has won every game in this series, so the fact that this one takes place in Washington bodes well for a Game 7, but this is another matchup that has been fairly even throughout the first round. Otto Porter is questionable to play in this game for the Wizards, while Fred VanVleet remains questionable for Toronto.
A Game 6 win would be a good sign for the Raptors, who have yet to pick up a statement victory in these playoffs. As long as the Raps keep winning at home, they could theoretically advance to the NBA Finals, since they’re the East’s No. 1 seed, but a solid road win would make them look like a much more formidable opponent heading into round two.
Over in the West, the road team is in a much tougher spot than the Cavs or Raptors — the Thunder trail 3-2 in their series with the Jazz, meaning they’ll need to win tonight in Utah just to keep their season alive. Oklahoma City looked all but dead in the third quarter of Game 5, but stormed back from a 25-point deficit behind huge games from Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
The Westbrook/George duo combined for 79 points in Game 5, with OKC’s next-highest scorer (Carmelo Anthony) scoring just seven. That’s a storyline worth watching in Game 6 — the Thunder probably can’t keep relying solely on the heroics of Westbrook and George, so someone else will need to step up. It’s not clear if Anthony will be that player, as the club looked better when he wasn’t on the court in Game 5.
What do you think? How will tonight’s games play out? Will the three teams in the driver’s seat be able to take care of business and advance to the next round, or can we look forward to another Game 7 or two on Sunday?
Poll: Will Eastern Favorites Survive Round One?
On Monday night, the Rockets and Jazz took commanding leads in their respective first-round series, joining the Warriors among the Western teams holding a 3-1 edge. In the fourth Western Conference series, the Pelicans have already advanced, so barring an unlikely comeback by the Timberwolves, Thunder, or Spurs, it looks like we may not get much more drama out west in round one.
The same can’t be said for the Eastern Conference though. Heading into Tuesday night, three of four series are tied at two games apiece, and the Sixers/Heat matchup – where Philadelphia holds a 3-1 lead – has also been entertaining and competitive.
While the Raptors, Cavaliers, and Celtics are still the favorites to advance to the second round, there are areas of concern for all three clubs heading into Game 5. The Raps fell back on same old playoff habits in Game 4 when they failed to move the ball as effectively as they have for much of the season; the Cavs’ supporting cast around LeBron James has been inconsistent; and the C’s have just been hit hard by injuries, though Marcus Smart‘s return appears imminent.
Meanwhile, the opponents in those three series are flawed, but dangerous. The Wizards are led by a pair of All-Stars in John Wall and Bradley Beal, and that backcourt can be hard to stop when it gets going; the Bucks have one of the NBA’s best players in Giannis Antetokounmpo; and the Pacers are a deep and well-coached squad headed by a potential All-NBA guard in Victor Oladipo.
We’ve essentially got a trio of best-of-three series on our hands in the East, and while it’s still possible that we won’t get any upsets, the underdogs have proven that they’ll make things difficult for the conference’s top seeds.
What do you think? Will the Raptors, Celtics, and Cavaliers all survive their first-round scares or will one or more of those teams get bounced in the first round? Vote below in our poll, then jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
Latest On DeMarcus Cousins
With the Pelicans thriving so far in the postseason without DeMarcus Cousins, ESPN’s Zach Lowe is the latest to look ahead to the big man’s upcoming free agency, exploring just how hard New Orleans will push to re-sign him. While there was once a consensus around the NBA that the small-market Pelicans, not wanting to let Cousins get away, would put a max deal on the table even after his Achilles injury, that’s far less certain now, Lowe writes.
Here are a few updates and notes from Lowe on what could be one of this offseason’s most interesting free agencies:
- The Pelicans have internally discussed the possibility of offering Cousins a two- or three-year contract worth less than the max, sources tell Lowe. The ESPN.com scribe doesn’t think that sort of offer would go over well with Cousins’ camp, but notes that New Orleans has a good amount of leverage, given the veteran center’s health — not to mention the lack of teams around the NBA with sizable cap room.
- Sources tell Lowe that most of the teams with max-level cap space aren’t expected to pursue Cousins. Some clubs are worried about his “baggage,” and he wouldn’t make much sense for a rebuilding team, since it will likely take him a full season to recover from his Achilles tear.
- Lowe identifies the Lakers and Mavericks as two wild cards for Cousins. However, he notes that the Lakers could use their cap room to land other stars or roll it over to 2019. As for the Mavs, if they go hard after a restricted free agent like Julius Randle or Aaron Gordon, they probably wouldn’t be in the mix for Cousins.
- The Wizards, Trail Blazers, Clippers, Raptors, Bucks, and Heat are a few of the teams Lowe mentions as possible landing spots if the Pelicans want to sign-and-trade Cousins, but he acknowledges that none would be a perfect match — and some are extreme long shots.
- With a four- or five-year max offer for Cousins seemingly unlikely, Lowe speculates that a third year could be the “inflection point” in the bidding for the All-Star big man. If one team is willing to do a fully or partially guaranteed third year, while another club wants to do a deal more like Paul Millsap‘s with the Nuggets (where the third year is a team option), that could be the difference, Lowe writes.
DeRozan, Lowry Wants To Bring Title To Canada
- By their own admission, Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan have gone from not speaking to being the closest of the friends. As the Raptors hold a 2-1 series lead over the Wizards, the only goal their goal is to bring a championship to Canada, the duo said to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols in an in-depth interview.
Could Delon Wright Lead His Own Team One Day?
- A pair of Atlantic Division point guards have developed slowly over time. Now, Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer wonders if Delon Wright and Terry Rozier could eventually leave the Raptors and Celtics for a chance to play a bigger role on another squad. Both players will be eligible for extensions this offseason, and Toronto and Boston may not have the cap flexibility to invest in them for the long term.