Post by Makers on May 25, 2016 4:11:36 GMT -5
Eastern Conference - Game 5 - Series tied 2-2
Toronto at Cleveland (-10.5/199), 8:35 p.m. ET - ESPN
This will be the first Game 5 of Cleveland’s 2016 postseason.
They’re 0-1 coming off a loss, so the Cavs haven’t necessarily dealt with the adversity they have faced well, but they’re expecting a return home will help them stabilize themselves as they look to move one win from a return to the NBA Finals.
Despite the 2-2 tie, Sportsbook.ag has set the series prices at -1150 for favored Cleveland while enticing Toronto backers with a return of +700. The Cavs are favored by 10.5 in Game 5, while the total has been set at 199.
For Toronto, this will be the third Game 5 of its playoff run, but will also be a new experience since the first two came at Air Canada Centre. Their group won’t have much to reference from personal experience going forward since the organization is making their first appearance in a conference finals and only head coach Dwane Casey and backup point guard Cory Joseph have championship experience, but that hasn’t been a detriment over the past week.
The Raptors are figuring things out as they go, and have proven to be quite resilient in guaranteeing themselves at least a Game 6 in an East finals series where they fell by 50 combined points in the first two contests. Toronto is just 2-6 on the road thus far in the playoffs and was 24-17 in the regular season. The Raptors lost their only regular-season game at Quicken Loans Arena 122-100, so they’ve been outscored by an average of 24 points in three losses in Cleveland.
Of course, none of that really matters at this point. The Raptors find themselves in a situation no one expected they would be in, an upset away from a series lead over heavily favored Cleveland and just two away from a spot in the Finals as Eastern Conference champs. Although they’ve done nothing on the road, the All-Star backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan did figure things out at the Air Canada Centre against this group. Lowry scored 35 points on 14-for-20 shooting in Game 4 and averaged 27.5 points per game after scoring a total of 18 points on 8-for-28 shooting in his two outings in Cleveland, shooting 1-for-15 3-point range. If he’s his usual fearless self, Toronto will have a puncher’s chance. If he doubts himself, or needs to decompress, odds are good that the Raptors won’t have a chance.
DeRozan has actually been good in every game in the series. He averaged 20 points per game in Cleveland over the first two games, shooting nearly 50 percent from the field, then stepped his game up in Canada, shooting 26-for-47 (55 pct) while scoring 32 points in the Raptors wins. Despite limiting his game by staying primarily inside the 3-point line, he’s been able to get to the free-throw line while also setting himself up for easy looks.
Because he’s been such a catalyst and this game means so much, it wouldn’t be surprising to see LeBron James find himself defending DeRozan more than he has all series. Offensively, James hasn’t forced the issue at all, shooting 77.5 percent (38-for-49) while averaging 25 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in the series, but after playing a postseason-high 46 minutes in Game 4, he’s ready to do whatever it takes to make sure the Cavs are playing in the NBA Finals next week.
“I’m comfortable playing him whatever he feels good (playing), I’m comfortable with,” head coach Tyronn Lue said Tuesday. “We talked about it before the game and the night before about how his body felt and wanting to play more minutes because we knew it was a big game for us, but it didn’t work out.”
Lineup combinations will be a major point of emphasis in this Game 5, since Kevin Love sat during the fourth quarter for the second straight game and was available despite ankle and possibly tweaking his knee after stepping on an official’s foot. He’s shot 5-for-23 over the last two games, including 3-for-11 from 3-point range, so Lue has gone with Channing Frye in key situations, preferring his height and more accurate shooting touch as opposed to going small and playing Love.
Bismack Biyombo has been the x-factor for the Raptors and has altered the course of the series with his rim protection. Tristan Thompson, considered Cleveland’s primary threat at the basket, has been outplayed by the 6-foot-10 center, who has come up with an average of 20 rebounds and 3.5 blocks over the last two games after grabbing just nine total boards over the course of the first two losses. His activity will be essential on the road.
Besides Love finding his range, the Cavs are hoping that being back home will guarantee Kyrie Irving being a positive factor in the series. He had 26 points and six assists in Game 4, but was just 3-for-19 in Saturday’s 99-84 loss, which came out of nowhere considering he’s averaged 26.5 points while shooting 59 percent from the field in leading the Cavs to a 2-0 lead.
As we anticipated coming in, James/DeRozan and Irving/Lowry is ultimately going to decide this series, but the first time, Toronto is going to take the court in Cleveland confident that they can hang with the Cavs. That could make all the difference.
Toronto at Cleveland (-10.5/199), 8:35 p.m. ET - ESPN
This will be the first Game 5 of Cleveland’s 2016 postseason.
They’re 0-1 coming off a loss, so the Cavs haven’t necessarily dealt with the adversity they have faced well, but they’re expecting a return home will help them stabilize themselves as they look to move one win from a return to the NBA Finals.
Despite the 2-2 tie, Sportsbook.ag has set the series prices at -1150 for favored Cleveland while enticing Toronto backers with a return of +700. The Cavs are favored by 10.5 in Game 5, while the total has been set at 199.
For Toronto, this will be the third Game 5 of its playoff run, but will also be a new experience since the first two came at Air Canada Centre. Their group won’t have much to reference from personal experience going forward since the organization is making their first appearance in a conference finals and only head coach Dwane Casey and backup point guard Cory Joseph have championship experience, but that hasn’t been a detriment over the past week.
The Raptors are figuring things out as they go, and have proven to be quite resilient in guaranteeing themselves at least a Game 6 in an East finals series where they fell by 50 combined points in the first two contests. Toronto is just 2-6 on the road thus far in the playoffs and was 24-17 in the regular season. The Raptors lost their only regular-season game at Quicken Loans Arena 122-100, so they’ve been outscored by an average of 24 points in three losses in Cleveland.
Of course, none of that really matters at this point. The Raptors find themselves in a situation no one expected they would be in, an upset away from a series lead over heavily favored Cleveland and just two away from a spot in the Finals as Eastern Conference champs. Although they’ve done nothing on the road, the All-Star backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan did figure things out at the Air Canada Centre against this group. Lowry scored 35 points on 14-for-20 shooting in Game 4 and averaged 27.5 points per game after scoring a total of 18 points on 8-for-28 shooting in his two outings in Cleveland, shooting 1-for-15 3-point range. If he’s his usual fearless self, Toronto will have a puncher’s chance. If he doubts himself, or needs to decompress, odds are good that the Raptors won’t have a chance.
DeRozan has actually been good in every game in the series. He averaged 20 points per game in Cleveland over the first two games, shooting nearly 50 percent from the field, then stepped his game up in Canada, shooting 26-for-47 (55 pct) while scoring 32 points in the Raptors wins. Despite limiting his game by staying primarily inside the 3-point line, he’s been able to get to the free-throw line while also setting himself up for easy looks.
Because he’s been such a catalyst and this game means so much, it wouldn’t be surprising to see LeBron James find himself defending DeRozan more than he has all series. Offensively, James hasn’t forced the issue at all, shooting 77.5 percent (38-for-49) while averaging 25 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists in the series, but after playing a postseason-high 46 minutes in Game 4, he’s ready to do whatever it takes to make sure the Cavs are playing in the NBA Finals next week.
“I’m comfortable playing him whatever he feels good (playing), I’m comfortable with,” head coach Tyronn Lue said Tuesday. “We talked about it before the game and the night before about how his body felt and wanting to play more minutes because we knew it was a big game for us, but it didn’t work out.”
Lineup combinations will be a major point of emphasis in this Game 5, since Kevin Love sat during the fourth quarter for the second straight game and was available despite ankle and possibly tweaking his knee after stepping on an official’s foot. He’s shot 5-for-23 over the last two games, including 3-for-11 from 3-point range, so Lue has gone with Channing Frye in key situations, preferring his height and more accurate shooting touch as opposed to going small and playing Love.
Bismack Biyombo has been the x-factor for the Raptors and has altered the course of the series with his rim protection. Tristan Thompson, considered Cleveland’s primary threat at the basket, has been outplayed by the 6-foot-10 center, who has come up with an average of 20 rebounds and 3.5 blocks over the last two games after grabbing just nine total boards over the course of the first two losses. His activity will be essential on the road.
Besides Love finding his range, the Cavs are hoping that being back home will guarantee Kyrie Irving being a positive factor in the series. He had 26 points and six assists in Game 4, but was just 3-for-19 in Saturday’s 99-84 loss, which came out of nowhere considering he’s averaged 26.5 points while shooting 59 percent from the field in leading the Cavs to a 2-0 lead.
As we anticipated coming in, James/DeRozan and Irving/Lowry is ultimately going to decide this series, but the first time, Toronto is going to take the court in Cleveland confident that they can hang with the Cavs. That could make all the difference.