The Cleveland Cavaliers protected home court, as expected, as they walked away from Game 2 of their first-round matchup against the Toronto Raptors victorious and in great position to close out this series sooner rather than later.
Despite just modest bench production — 19 points to Toronto’s 45 — Cleveland’s starting lineup and potent offensive system was simply too much for the Raptors.
Let’s get into some takeaways.
Cavaliers 115, Raptors 105
Brandon Ingram is becoming a problem — and not in a good way
The 6-foot-8 forward, in his first active season with Toronto, had a lackluster 17-point Game 1 and criticized the coaching staff for his lack of shots (nine). He followed that up by scoring a grand total of zero points in the first half of Game 2 — scoring seven overall on 3-of-15 shooting — putting even more pressure on his teammates to offset his lack of production.
Ingram, who has a history of being a reluctant 3-point shooter, is currently re-triggering old habits and offering limited spacing to the Raptors, who aren’t exactly deep in the shooting department as is.
Cleveland’s primary trio is working
Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and James Harden found a substantial rhythm Monday night, combining for 83 points in Game 2.
While all three are getting their shots up, at no point does it seem like a “my turn, your turn” type of situation.
In fact, they all seem potent playing off each other, with Mobley in particular realizing and embracing the fact that his scoring is primarily going to come off dribble penetration as a byproduct of the space created by his two guards.
Twenty-two turnovers certainly didn’t do Toronto any favors, and while Jamal Shead has done a decent job replacing Quickley in the starting lineup, there’s clearly a talent deficit in play as the 23-year-old sophomore guard is far too inconsistent to carry the role over a long period of time.
While Shead is actually adept at hanging onto the rock, he relinquishes the ball a fair bit to Ingram, R.J. Barrett and Scottie Barnes, who are simply overtaxed as primary ball-handlers, leading to rushed decisions and indecisive play.
The return of Quickley from a strained right hamstring can’t come soon enough.
Game 3 is slated for 8 p.m. ET Thursday in Toronto.
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