Cleveland Cavaliers Sweep Toronto Raptors

Dwane Casey is likely to win Coach of the Year and has done a great job this campaign, but his future will certainly be in question after another playoff failure.

The Cavaliers as a team improved their shooting performance in this series, shooting 41.1 percent from beyond the arc in the second round. “But it’s nothing that I had to say verbally”.

“As a competitor, we want to go up against that because the story is sweeter once you dethrone a great”, DeRozan said.

James scored 39 points, knocked down 15-of-21 free throws and barely missed from the field (10-of-14) in 37 minutes to clip Toronto again.

Game Five takes place in Boston on Wednesday, where the Celtics will look to clinch a place in the Eastern Conference finals. Toronto tied the game with eight seconds left before James hit a buzzer-beater for a 105-103 win.

There was no drama Monday as Cleveland led by four after the first quarter, 16 at the half and 28 after three.

The organization also made an identity transformation, making DeMar DeRozan the main option instead of Kyle Lowry.

“It’s life”, said the Raptors guard. “We just didn’t get it done in the playoffs”.

Fellow all-star Kyle Lowry offered little from the podium, a baseball cap jammed low over his eyes as DeRozan fielded questions.

“We’ve had four or five seasons wrapped in one, we know what the narrative has been about our team”, said James, who averaged 34 points, 8.3 rebounds and 11.3 assists in the series.

Granted, we’ve all done the same – just not with Donald Glover, Kenan Thompson, Pete Davidson and a few friends to add some hilarity to our hot takes.

And James couldn’t help but smile when asked about how much help he had in Game 4 when he got off to a slow start.

In the series, LeBron recorded 136 points, 45 assists and 33 rebounds.

Kevin Love led all scorers with 25 points, while Kyrie Irving added 23.

Jonas Valanciunas was a notable beacon of resistance, providing 18 points off the bench.

Think about that. Then think about what this might mean going forward for a Cavs team that is in the Eastern Conference finals for the fourth consecutive year. I’ve seen him shoot that shot, that game-winner, countless times when he’s just messing around in shootaround and practice.

Four games with Toronto straightened them out.

Cleveland came into the Air Canada Centre with a 0-4 record that season, but LeBron set the tone early and the team never let up. But it was the same old story in the post-season with no answers for James and the Cavaliers.

LeBron James (23) of the Cleveland Cavaliers in action during the National Basketball Association game between Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers at Quicken Loans Arena on December 9, 2017 in Cleveland, United States.

James is different, too, a generational talent who has represented the Eastern Conference in seven straight NBA Finals and is now one round away from reaching his eighth.