Quick Reaction: Raptors 102, Cavaliers 114
RJ Barrett: Barrett was ice cold from outside tonight, but he was relentless in driving the ball. He did not have as much success as he had earlier in the series as a paint scorer, the Cavaliers size was more impactful on the defensive end against Barrett tonight, but he still kept up the rim pressure despite that. He did wind up taking some ill-advised looks, likely feeling some pressure to get Toronto out of their funk, but it just wound up in more missed looks around the rim. Grade: B-
Sandro Mamukelashvili: Mamu played limited minutes tonight, he was no help on the glass, and defensively he struggled to get back in transition and be in the proper places. He had a fast break dunk in the first half, and his other field goals came toward the end of the game. He was just not very effective in the minutes that he was given. Grade: C
Jamal Shead: Shead was playing like a man possessed in the first half, this was the best he’s looked as a ball handler and driver all season long. He was attacking the basket, getting into the lane, getting to the foul line, and knocking down triples, he really looked like a capable ball handler. He even had an amazing outback where he jumped up over several Cleveland defenders. In the second half things did not go as well, and Shead remained scoreless in the second half. He sprained his ankle in the first half, so he was physically quite limited. But without his out-of-body performance, the Raptors ran out of gas. Grade: B+
Scottie Barnes: Barnes had a great night offensively, he was making great passing reads to shooters when Cleveland would load up on him, his mid-range touch was strong, firing up soft middies over defenders. He was pushing the ball in transition, putting pressure on the Cavaliers defense, he was truly doing it all. Despite being in foul trouble due to some questionable calls, he was still all over the floor on defense as well. With him on the floor, the Raptors were even with the Cavs. Grade: A+
Jakob Poeltl: Jakob was mostly bad tonight, he didn’t put much pressure on Cleveland as a roller or play finisher, he wasn’t good on defense allowing plenty of penetration, this was just a forgettable night for Poeltl. Jakob had deep paint positioning plenty of times, but he just wouldn’t go up. He began to somewhat find his footing in the 4th quarter, but by then it was too little, too late. Grade: D
Collin Murray-Boyles: CMB was good at helping at the right time and causing turnovers, whenever Cleveland would enter the paint with the ball he was there to provide a dig or stunt and sometimes kickstart a fast break. He was pretty physical tonight, and he found his way to the free throw line a few times as a result of this physicality and nose for rolling or diving to the rim. Grade: A
Ja’Kobe Walter: Ja’Kobe caused plenty of turnovers, putting his body on the line to draw offensive fouls, and using his strong hands to dislodge the ball from Cleveland ball handlers. His on-ball defense was pretty solid overall. He had many good looks from three as well that he knocked down plenty of. His relocation was strong once again and he was shooting with confidence and knocking them down. Grade: A
Jamison Battle: Battle hit a fast break triple early on in the game which added to Toronto’s momentum, but outside of that he did not have any baskets. He was good at blitzing Cleveland’s pick n’ roll actions, and forcing the ball to the middle of the floor, but with his limited minutes he was not very impactful offensively. Grade: B
AJ Lawson: Lawson’s on-ball defense was good, he picked up full-court, he was staying with Cleveland ball handlers stride for stride. His pressure on defense was noticeable but his lack of utility on offense is what caused him to be sent back to the bench. Grade: B-
Darko Rajakovic: Darko did well spacing out the minutes tonight, giving Scottie and RJ the time to rest that was necessary. His defensive gameplan which had been effective for most of the series due to Jarrett Allen’s inability to punish them did not work out so well in this game, as it progressed. With all the injuries that Toronto faced, he still had them competing in this game for a good chunk of its duration with his heavy motion play sets and aggressive defense causing turnovers and points off of turnovers. Grade: A
THINGS WE SAW:
- Toronto’s aggressive swarming defense empowered them to lead the points off of turnovers battle early on, but that waned as the game progressed.
- Scottie Barnes truly left it all on the floor tonight, he scratched and clawed on defense, he was smooth and precise on offense, he truly was great in this series.
- For the first time in this series, Jarrett Allen actually utilized the size advantage they had had to turn the tides in Cleveland’s favor.
- Really sorry about the graphic machine being so up-and-down this season. It broke again tonight, of course. Hence this being by hand.
- Hell of a season. Thanks for being part of Raptors Republic! The offseason starts immediately, but let’s take a moment to enjoy 2025-26.
Your next read: Scottie Barnes And The Raptors Leave With Nothing After Giving Everything In Game 7 Loss, by Samson Folk
“By not surrendering to the early death, the Raptors resolved to learn. With their tight rotation of mostly young guns, they learned every moment along the way. A playoff series brings a tremendous sense of clarity. A singular type of education. When players lay their life on the line for every possession, you see the essence of them. It is the crucible and the trial by fire in which a lot of the league’s best players are made. In that environment, the Raptors learned they didn’t have enough to topple the Cavs in this series.”
The post Quick Reaction: Raptors 102, Cavaliers 114 first appeared on Raptors Republic.