Cleveland Cavaliers vs Toronto Raptors Game 5 Preview

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Toronto Raptors Game 5 Preview

Game 5 for the Raptors and Cavaliers

Game 5 for the Raptors and Cavaliers

Someone call the Coast Guard - the Cavs are lost at sea.

They seemed to have lost their way for seven of the eight quarters in Toronto, not knowing what happened to the offensive flow they had been playing with makes it tough to break down why they've been so bad, but they have been awful at time. Kevin Love has not been able to buy a bucket in Toronto; he got a number of good looks from distance early on in game four, but just wasn't able to knock them down.

Now the series returns to Cleveland, and if the Cavs are going to be able to move on to the NBA Finals for the second year in a row, they have to be able to figure out a way to shut down Demar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.

I personally have been talking about how I don't like DeRozan and his game, there's no way that midrange shooting is sustainable as a way to score buckets, but this series he has been making me eat my words. He has been playing very well for the Raptors, and Kyle Lowry has bounced out of whatever funk he was in during games one and two.

The Cavs must get contributions from all members of the Big Three tonight, JR Smith needs to get some more looks at open threes, the ball needs to move around more, and the Cavs need to stop settling for bad jump shots on offense. The defensive intensity also needs to be brought up to snuff - this is no longer the cake walk that I thought it would be.

Send me a life raft, the Raptors have all the momentum right now, not that momentum exists in a game to game environment, I don't believe it does, but the Cavs need to grab this series by the throat tonight and exert their offensive and defensive will against the Raptors tonight.

The gloves are off, this is a must win game for the Cavs.

Someone call the Coast Guard - the Cavs are lost at sea.

They seemed to have lost their way for seven of the eight quarters in Toronto, not knowing what happened to the offensive flow they had been playing with makes it tough to break down why they've been so bad, but they have been awful at time. Kevin Love has not been able to buy a bucket in Toronto; he got a number of good looks from distance early on in game four, but just wasn't able to knock them down.

Now the series returns to Cleveland, and if the Cavs are going to be able to move on to the NBA Finals for the second year in a row, they have to be able to figure out a way to shut down Demar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry.

I personally have been talking about how I don't like DeRozan and his game, there's no way that midrange shooting is sustainable as a way to score buckets, but this series he has been making me eat my words. He has been playing very well for the Raptors, and Kyle Lowry has bounced out of whatever funk he was in during games one and two.

The Cavs must get contributions from all members of the Big Three tonight, JR Smith needs to get some more looks at open threes, the ball needs to move around more, and the Cavs need to stop settling for bad jump shots on offense. The defensive intensity also needs to be brought up to snuff - this is no longer the cake walk that I thought it would be.

Send me a life raft, the Raptors have all the momentum right now, not that momentum exists in a game to game environment, I don't believe it does, but the Cavs need to grab this series by the throat tonight and exert their offensive and defensive will against the Raptors tonight.

The gloves are off, this is a must win game for the Cavs.

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