\n<\/p>\n
Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles has played a key role in Toronto tying up its first-round series vs. Cleveland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u2022\u00a0Download the NBA App<\/a><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n This series<\/a> is deadlocked and so is the momentum. It\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess as to which team moves on to the Eastern Conference semifinals, and in that sense, the Cleveland Cavaliers must be feeling a bit dizzy right now.<\/p>\n They built a 2-0 lead and looked dominant while doing so, only to flutter helplessly in Toronto and allow the Raptors to pull even. That\u2019s more of an indictment against the Cavs, who do have the advantage of home court, which could swing in their favor, starting with Game 5 on Wednesday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN<\/strong><\/a>).<\/p>\n Much will fall on the reputations and shoulders of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. The duo worked so wondrously in the first two games \u2026 and then, at times, became victims of their own mistakes and missed shots in the two Cleveland losses.<\/p>\n The Raptors have shown they can take a punch and not only survive, but give a strong response. And they still haven\u2019t seen Brandon Ingram\u2019s A-game yet.<\/p>\n If he starts connecting, and he\u2019s certainly due, the Raptors might find themselves going home with a chance to close out the series.<\/p>\n Yes, the situation is that delicate between the Cavs and Raptors. Here\u2019s what to watch for Game 5 in Cleveland:<\/p>\n What has happened since the first two games, which were dominated by the Cavs? The Raptors paid extra attention to Mitchell and Harden and dared their Cavs teammates to step into those big roles. And none have so far.<\/p>\n Mitchell and Harden create so much for themselves and their teammates because of their ball dominance that when Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and the rest of the rotation must fend for themselves, the offensive output can be minimal at times.<\/p>\n The obvious third wheel in the equation is Mobley, who has made steady improvement at both ends since his rookie season \u2026 except for this season, when he flatlined. And that has carried over into this first-round series as Mobley has had one impactful game. He\u2019s averaging 16.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game vs. Toronto.<\/p>\n The Raptors must be aware of the Harden and\/or Mitchell response, especially at home. Harden will look to secure the ball better; he\u2019s averaging six turnovers per game. Also, Toronto might need to be mindful of a level-up by a Cleveland rotational player. Max Strus and Jaylon Tyson could have their game of the series and put Cleveland one step closer to winning this round.<\/p>\n Both teams are coming off a Game 4 where points and efficiency took a back seat. That means the Raptors and<\/em> Cavaliers are due for a bounce-back.<\/p>\n And it might come down to long-distance shooting.<\/p>\n Which team seems most capable?<\/p>\n As for the Cavs, who are at 34% in the series, Strus, Harden and Sam Merrill must take charge. They\u2019re the most efficient of the bunch, and in the case of Strus and Merrill, it might be time for them to shoot often. As a duo, they\u2019re barely taking more combined than Mitchell does in a game, and Mitchell\u2019s efficiency is streaky.<\/p>\n The Raptors don\u2019t emphasize 3-point shooting mainly because it\u2019s not their strength, especially with Immanuel Quickley out for the series with an injury. Grady Dick was supposed to be the designated specialist, but he has regressed and isn\u2019t even in the rotation. Except for RJ Barrett, none of Toronto\u2019s top scorers are volume shooters from deep.<\/p>\n Should the Raptors make 3s, that would be a bonus for them and send the Cleveland defense scrambling. Should the Cavs make 3s, that could make it hard for Toronto to win.<\/p>\n What\u2019s impressive about the Raptors in this series is how two players taken in the last two drafts are coming up large at times. That would be Jamal Shead and Collin Murray-Boyles, who are demanding and getting ample playing time.<\/p>\n How many guards who average six points and don\u2019t control the ball can earn 30 minutes a night in the playoffs? Shead is on the floor because of his intense defense, relentless hustle and he\u2019s not intimidated by the moment.<\/p>\n Harden and Mitchell know that Shead will be in their grill constantly.<\/p>\n As for Murray-Boyles, he\u2019s the best paint player in the series, bringing energy and blue collar, more impactful than Mobley and Allen, two more experienced and accomplished players. Murray-Boyles is attacking the glass and supplying a skill that has diminished in the NBA over the last decade or so \u2014 offensive rebounding. Those second-chance possessions are giving the Raptors multiple scoring opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cHe changes games,\u201d said Barnes.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at\u00a0spowell@nba.com<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0follow him on\u00a0X<\/a>.<\/em>\n<\/div>\n Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles has played a key role in Toronto tying up its first-round series vs. Cleveland. \u2022\u00a0Download the NBA App This series is deadlocked and so is the momentum. It\u2019s anyone\u2019s guess as to which team moves on to the Eastern Conference semifinals, and in that sense, the Cleveland Cavaliers must be feeling a … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3-things-to-watch-in-Cavaliers-Raptors-Game-5.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29119"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29121,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29119\/revisions\/29121"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n1. Will Raptors\u2019 strategy work?<\/h3>\n
\n2. Why 3s are the magic number<\/h3>\n
\n3. Shead, Murray-Boyles stepping up<\/h3>\n
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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"