CLEVELAND — Random dribbles at halftime from Game 2 of the Cavaliers’ first-round series vs. the Raptors. Cavs led, 54-48.
1. Donovan Mitchell is breaking out some of his best work and James Harden hasn’t been half bad, either. Still, the Cavs can’t seem to shake the Raptors.
2. That’s not necessarily the fault of the Cavs. The Raptors deserve credit. This has just been a well-played game so far.
3. You do have to like the Cavs’ energy. One thing I think they could afford to do is get Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley a little more involved offensively. But that’s nitpicky.
4. Other areas to clean up: The Cavs are just 2-of-5 from the line and are being out-rebounded by a 23-18 count. Nothing major, but stuff like that can be the difference between a close win and a convincing one.
5. On the plus side, whatever the Cavs have been doing on Raptors star Brandon Ingram … it’s working. He has zero points and looks fairly annoyed (0-of-6 shooting).
6. Harden has four turnovers and one assist. The Cavs will need a lot closer to the reverse of that in the final 24 minutes.
7. Harden has 16 points, Mitchell 15. Each is 6-of-11 shooting. Mobley is 6-of-6 from the field for 12 points. Cleveland needs one more guy to step up offensively. But more than that, they need to take care of the intangibles as a group.
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