Before walking away from his postgame press conference Donovan Mitchell made a point to shoutout Dean Wade for his effort on both ends, despite only scoring 3 points.
Evan Mobley was asked about the Cavs holding Brandon Ingram to 3-of-15 tonight and simply said "Dean Wade."
Heading into Game 3, the Raptors haven't had a lead in this series since the 54-second mark of the 1st quarter in Game 1.
Last tie (other than 0-0 when Game 2 tipped) was 39-39 with 8 minutes left in the 2nd quarter of Game 1.
Credit to the Raptors for putting up a fight tonight, but despite hanging around by single-digits for much of the second half, the Cavs kept them at arm's length for most of the night.
2-0 Cleveland as the series shifts to Toronto.
Driving layup from Donovan Mitchell pushes the lead back to 14 and this game feels out of reach again for the Raptors.
Bench scoring is the big difference tonight, where Cavs are getting outscored 39-14. The trio of Harden, Mitchell and Mobley have combined for 65 of Cleveland's 92 points.
For all intents and purposes, Jakob Poeltl has been played out of the series. He was in the starting lineup but has played just 9 minutes tonight.
The Raptors shot over 50% from three for most of Game 1 and finished at 48%. So far tonight, they're shooting just 27% from deep.
No offense to the Saturday crowd, but tonight feels like much more of a playoff atmosphere inside Rocket Arena
Max Strus, still hot
The Raptors were 26th in 3-point shooting for the season. On Saturday, they shot just under 50% from three for the game and lost to the Cavaliers by double-digits.
If Game 1 was an indication, we're in for a short first-round series:
roundtable.io/sports/nba/c...
Raptors shot 53% from three in the first half. They've shot over 50% from three in a game just six times this season. We'll see if that holds up.
Felt like the Cavs were on the brink of pulling away late in the half. That Max Strus 3 pushed the lead to 10 with 25 to play but RJ Barrett answered it and Cleveland heads to the half up 7, 61-54.
Some people are here to see an NBA playoff game. Some are here to see James Harden and Donovan Mitchell.
I'm here to see Red Panda.
Felt like the Cavs were on the brink of pulling away late in the half. That Max Strus 3 pushed the lead to 10 with 25 to play but RJ Barrett answered it and Cleveland heads to the half up 7, 61-54.
James Harden has been special so far today.
Myles Garrett in the house for Cavs-Raptors Game 1. Browns open a voluntary veteran minicamp this week.
Don't think many ppl had Scottie Barnes starting the game 3-for-3 from 3 on their bingo card. Raptors also shooting 50% from three while Cavs are shooting 29%. Biggest difference so far.
Sam Merrill is the first man up off the bench for Cleveland. Replaces Evan Mobley.
Poeltl can't hang with Jarrett Allen
Yes, the Cavaliers are under plenty of pressure as another postseason commences. The thing is, though, they want it.
How Donovan Mitchell and company are embracing everything that comes with the Cavs lofty playoff expectations:
roundtable.io/sports/nba/c...
Andrew Berry's comments on Carnell Tate and Jordyn Tyson. Called Tate a "trapeze artist" with his acrobatics. Said Tyson is a great creator with the ball in his hands.
Top 5 game of all time.
We hear so much about "guardrails" with the Browns regarding the players they target in the draft. @sdiben90NFL confirmed certain ones exist in our latest convo on the Locked on Browns Podcast.
Plus his ideal outcome in the first round for Cleveland and more! 🔽
Cavs HC Kenny Atkinson asked whether or not there are any restrictions on Jarrett Allen to start the playoffs says "not that I know of."
Browns GM Andrew Berry calls Joel Bitonio a foundational player for the organization. Everything we could ever ask for as a Cleveland Brown. But says he needs to make his decision on his own.
Browns GM Andrew Berry says they've continued to talk to Joel Bitonio, but still don't know what he'll decide regarding his future.
Browns GM Andrew Berry on potentially trading up says it's most complicated than simply a player being there that they want to trade up for and more about what's the acquisition cost to get there.
Browns GM Andrew Berry on Jeremiyah Love: He's special. If you think about some of the dual threat backs – CMC may be the post child for that – Jeremiyah has a lot of those same traits.
Browns GM Andrew Berry on rumors about the team trading back: Our mindset going into the draft isn't about just: trade it away. It's maximizing the value.
We'll continue to work through all possibilities up until we're on the clock on Thursday night.
