Raptors & Cavaliers Series Preview | RR x Chase Down Pod
Samson Folk & Trevon Heath are joined by the Chase Down Podcast to discuss the upcoming Raptors vs Cavaliers playoff series.
From Samson’s piece:
“The Cleveland Cavaliers are, I think, a bad defensive team since Harden arrived. They are by the numbers, at least. When you look at a backcourt of Mitchell & Harden, most teams see a lot of opportunity offensively – perhaps led by one of their lead ball handlers. The Raptors are currently unsure if Immanuel Quickley will start Game 1 of this series. That really changes things for them. I have little doubt that RJ Barrett will find his way into usage and probably average north of 20 points per game in this series. He’ll cut, he’ll run second side pick n’ rolls, he’ll drive the ball. He’ll put pressure on the Cavaliers back court. The good stuff. Will the Raptors turn the offense over to him above the others, though? I doubt it.
It really depends on how the Cavs want to slice this thing up, but if they opt for Dean Wade at the 3 spot, they’d be leaning defense. In fact, the Harden-Mitchell-Wade-Mobley-Allen lineup has played to the tune of an 85 defensive rating, per cleaning the glass. Pretty good! Great, actually! If the Raptors start out games trying to score against that unit, they’ll have to play fast, as previously mentioned, but they’ll have to figure out, more than anything, how to include the Cavs backcourt in as many actions as possible. Whether that’s against the Cavs starting lineup, or otherwise. In doing this, they’ll be partaking in the classic playoff gambit of searching for mismatches.
In the matchups this year, it was only Wade who looked about the right size to guard Ingram. Before he was traded, Hunter looked a bit small. Jaylon Tyson, who I really like, looked quite small. Max Strus, who I also really like, well, I haven’t seen it, but I bet he’s too small. There will probably be a rotating cast of bodies sent Ingram’s way, and it’s his job to dispatch of them and deliver points to the Raptors. Ingram scored the majority of his points in transition against the Cavs, but next up was through post ups – and mismatches.
The Cavaliers didn’t really send help in the regular season. They were happy to see if Ingram could outmatch their smaller defenders. He did! But not through bullying his way to the rim or dissecting doubles – he did it by hitting faders over the top. I suspect the Cavaliers were fine with that outcome in the regular season, playing the numbers and all that, but I do wonder in the pressure cooker of a playoff series if some more help might be sent if shots are dropping in. This is one of the very interesting things about Ingram. Shot quality is always low, he’s not necessarily bending the defense out of shape, but he can hit the shots. If the Raptors get a hot streak from Ingram, then any shot in that area, and the Cavaliers lack of big wing defenders, could spell trouble for Cleveland.
Now, this also applies to Barnes & Barrett. With Barrett, the Raptors are comfortable to run pinch post stuff for him. With Barnes, he was actually, by the numbers, one of the better isolation players in the NBA when you include passes. He really did punish mismatches well. The prospective defensive matchups don’t seem likely to make these two focal points as mismatch killers, though. If Quickley is around for the majority of the series, I expect to see Harden on Barrett, and post defense might be Harden’s only plus defensive too. With Barnes, the Cavaliers want to keep Mobley on him, and are reluctant to switch off. It makes a lot of sense for the Raptors to ask Barnes to crush any mismatch that comes his way, but I don’t know if many will be on offer.”
Have a blessed day.
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