The Cleveland Cavaliers defended their home floor in Game 1 of their first round series against the Toronto Raptors.
Let’s go over today’s winners, because there were no losers.
WINNER – Pace
Controlling the tempo was a point of emphasis for the Cavaliers entering this series. Toronto is one of the deadlier transition teams in the league, while Cleveland was just a middling transition defense throughout the regular season. Naturally, this was a cause for concern.
Cleveland kept the Raptors at bay in the first half. They only allowed one point in transition during the opening quarters by hustling back on defense and forcing the game into a half-court setting. The Cavs also benefitted from drawing a load of fouls, attempting 17 free throws in the first half, and making it harder for Toronto to push off rebounds.
“You tell a group that’s hungry to win, ‘this is what we need to do to win the game,’ and I think they lock in,” said Kenny Atkinson of his group after the game.
This carried deep into the second half, where the Raptors remained stuck in the mud as Cleveland grew its lead. The Cavs kept the game slow and pummeled them 52-36 in the paint. Toronto finished with just 3 fastbreak points.
Closing the door on what should be Toronto’s biggest advantage in this series is a testament to Kenny Atkinson’s game plan and the players for bringing it to life. If they can continue to win on the margins, they’ll go on to win the series.
WINNER – Pick and Roll
One result of slowing the game down is that it forces you to dig deeper into your offensive bag. For the Cavs, a slower game set in the halfcourt meant the world was theirs. Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, especially, dominated in that regard.
We’ve seen Harden’s mastery in the pick-and-roll for more than a decade at this point. It turns out, he’s still going at running that action even in a classic ‘07 Cavs jersey. He worked the Raptors in pick-and-roll, coming up with an answer to any problem he was presented. Harden scored either with his step-back jumper or by getting into the lane with his floater. If the Raps blitzed the ball or overcommitted on his drives, he’d quickly zap the ball to a teammate.
That’s the Beard’s special.
“He’s firing darts to shooters,” said Atkinson. “I’d love to see the passes he threw to Max… he’s almost like a quarterback, super accurate, just kind of picking them apart with short passes and then he hits the long ones every once in a while.”
Mitchell, meanwhile, took more of an all-gas, no breaks approach. He put relentless pressure on the basket, slicing into the paint and taking advantage of the Raptors lack of rim protection. When he’s doing that and his three-point shot is falling? Good luck.
The Cavs’ backcourt combined for 54 points and 14 assists.
WINNER – Max Strus
The playoffs are where stars shine brightest. But make no mistake, this environment has always been ripe for big performances from role players, too.
Max Strus fits that bill.
Strus started the game by using his gravity to attack poor closeouts and get to the rim. It’s always good to see someone who was previously considered a three-point specialist use that skill against the defense to find new opportunities. Strus darted to the basket for numerous layups in the first half, including a buzzer-beating layup to close the first quarter.
“He’s a dog,” said James Harden. “Whether he makes shots or misses shots, he’s more impactful to our team in ways that probably don’t show up in the stat sheet.”
From there, Strus was loose.
We saw more of what you’d expect from Strus as the game went on. A three-pointer in the first half got the ball rolling. That carried over into the second half, where he nailed three more. Strus ended the game 8-10 from the floor, scoring a playoff career-high 24 points and giving Cleveland a massive boost off the bench.
“When you look at how he works, he practices individually for the big moments,” said Atkinson after the game. “We needed his gravity today, I think it turned the game for us offensively, and that got us our separation.”
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