Dribbles: Cavs show plenty of everything in Game 1 takedown

Random dribbles following the Cavaliers’ 126-113 home win over the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of their first-round series on Saturday.

1. Well, the Cavs showed a little bit of everything. Star power. Aggressiveness. Toughness. Defense. Belief. 

2. If this carries over, let’s be honest, so is this series. Toronto just doesn’t have the depth or postseason experience to pull off the upset.

3. Yeah, sorry, got way ahead of myself there. But the Cavs pretty much answered every doubt in the first 48 minutes of the playoffs. Toronto is no joke defensively. Far from it. And the Cavs still put up 35 points in the first quarter and 36 in the third. Things were therefore never in doubt in the fourth.

4. But if you ask the Cavs, it was their ability to get stops while finding their rhythm — with the key part of that sentence being stops. They didn’t totally shut down the Raptors for the game. But they did when it mattered.

5. The Cavs led by as many as 24 points early in the fourth. Toronto’s biggest lead was five (in the first half). The Raptors also had exactly zero dunks through the first three quarters. So Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen answered the bell here defensively.

6. Offensively, boy, it’s hard to pick a hero. You can always andf forever go with Donovan Mitchell, who erupted for a game-high 32 points. Or how about Max Strus? All he did was come off the bench and score 24 on 8-of-10 shooting. I’ll be honest, I don’t recall the two misses.

7. James Harden was the playoff version the Cavs needed, with 22 points and 10 assists. He ran the show, took over when needed, and was just the consummate pro. It’s nice to have a guy with the ball in his hands who never gets rattled.

8. Speaking of that, Mobley looked like an old pro himself. He was perhaps as decisive and confident as we’ve seen him, scoring 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds. I love how he used both hands to pull down those boards, too. Offensively, he forced nothing, yet still played with force.

9. Many others gave underrated showings. The list includes Allen (10 points, seven rebounds), Sam Merrill, Keon Ellis, Dennis Schroder and Dean Wade. All served the intangible roles very well, and you need that to win at this time of year. Jaylon Tyson struggled early (thanks to three quick fouls), but bounced back nicely in the second half.

10. Coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters he was pleased with the Cavs in the rebounds and turnovers departments. It’s where the scrappy Raptors have made their name. “That’s going to be a big part in this series,” Atkinson said, via Jackson Flickinger of Fear the Sword.

11. He also had to be pleased with the second-half defense on Raptors midrange man Brandon Ingram. He scored 17, but had just four in the final 24 minutes. “The more we can make things difficult for him, the more we can throw bodies at him [the more difficult it will be],” Atkinson said.

12. As I mentioned in my recap, the Cavs forced the Raptors to do a lot of things they don’t like. Among those things? Shooting from way downtown. Toronto was actually hotter than usual on threes, making 13-of-27. That’s probably fine with the Cavs. The Raptors shot lights out (for them) and the Cavs still won by 13.

13. Also, as Harden told reporters, “They predicate on getting out in the open floor and getting easy buckets.” The Cavs contained that Toronto strength as well. Basically, the Raptors aren’t likely to beat you shooting a lot of threes. That’s not their game.

14. Meanwhile, the Cavs went 44-of-81 from the field (54 percent), and 16-of-32 on threes. And hey, they even knocked down 22 of their 28 free throws. Some of these playoff games are gonna be close. The free-throw line can be a remarkably underrated difference.

15. Game 2 is Monday night, also at Rocket Arena. My youngest son had a piano recital at noon on Saturday, so I didn’t actually attend Game 1. Kind of rude for the NBA to schedule the game in Cleveland for 1 p.m. Who was it that Luka Doncic and Cade Cunningham appealed to again? I need to speak with that person. 

16. Anyway, much more to come on Hoops Wire. Thanks, as always, for following along.

• BOX SCORE | Cavs 126, Raptors 113
• RELATED | Cavs break out best, overwhelm Raptors
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