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TSN Raptors Reporter

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CLEVELAND - The Raptors say they're not afraid of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Perhaps they ought to be.

"I'm never afraid of human beings," Bismack Biyombo told TSN leading up to Thursday's Game 2. "I always joke with Kyle [Lowry], I'm afraid of lions. There's no reason to be afraid of [James]."

Hours later, the four-time MVP offered up a counterpoint. 

There are at least a few good reasons to fear the King. For starters, he's as quick as he is strong, as smart as he is talented. He sees the floor like a point guard, dominates the game like a centre and can guard every position in between. 

On the way to their first ever Eastern Conference Finals appearance, the Raptors disposed of Paul George's Indiana Pacers, Dwyane Wade's Miami Heat - needing seven games to get past both, to be fair - but, if there was ever any doubt, they're quickly learning what most in the NBA have already accepted as a reality: the Cavs, and their best player, are a different beast.

"All the great players at this time of year are going to play at that level," Dwane Casey said of James, who recorded 23 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists - his 15th career playoff triple-double - in Cleveland's 108-89 win. "He's not doing anything that we didn't expect or didn't think we was going to do."

That's sort of the point and one of the reasons why people somehow sleep on the league's most dangerous and versatile weapon. Deservedly, Stephen Curry was the league's unanimous choice for MVP this season, his second straight year winning the award, but nobody - including Curry - is as lethal at this time of year. Nobody is able to do as much as James can, on both ends of the floor. Few ever have.

Now, two wins away from his sixth straight trip to the Finals, James and his team are making quick work of the East. On Thursday, the Cavs become the fourth team in league history to start the playoffs a perfect 10-0 and, through two games, this Conference Final is shaping up to be one of the most lopsided the NBA has ever seen.

"The first game was ugly, tonight was not pretty, but we're not quitting," said Casey, whose team has been outscored by 50 points in the series. "I don't sense any quit in that locker room. So everybody can bury us and put us under, but we're not quitting."

By the latter stages of the second quarter, it certainly looked like they had. Despite an uncharacteristically poor half from Kyle Lowry, his worst of the playoffs, the Raptors had tied the score at 46 before things started to unravel. Suddenly, nothing was going their way. Those shots that were falling in last week's encouraging Game 7 victory over Miami were rimming out, James was picking their defence apart, the Cavs were practically living at the free throw line and there were the Raptors, dejected and losing their composure.

Lowry went to the locker room to blow off some steam with a couple minutes left in the half. It's something he's done before, but probably not a great look for a team leader.

"It was nothing more than to decompress, breath, get back out," said Toronto's All-Star point guard, who scored 10 points on 4-for-14 and is now shooting 1-for-15 from three-point range in the series.

"Listen, we've got a game on Saturday and I know I'm going to be much more effective on Saturday. Simple as that."

They're running out of time and reasonable cause to believe they can hang with Cleveland, especially if Lowry continues to underwhelm. Their best chance - maybe their only chance - to even steal a game rests on his shoulders. He needs to be at his best or pretty close to it. On the other end of the spectrum, James is as safe a bet as they come. He smells blood in the water which, as it usually does, means trouble for the team in his way.

"Well, I mean, it's always difficult to deal with me," said James, who clearly isn't lacking in the confidence department. "I think it adds even more when you have two All-Stars with you, two guys that command multiple eyes every possession. They're in such a great rhythm right now, I've been able to just pick my spots and do other things to help us try to win ballgames while those guys take the load. Tonight was an example of them giving me a little bit more space, and I just tried to make some plays."

That he did. The Raptors have gotten up on him, they've given him space, they've played him in single coverage, they've doubled, they've tried everything and it hasn't come close to being enough. James didn't even attempt his second shot until early in the second quarter, by that time he already had six assists. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love combined for 45 points on 30 shots, thanks in large part to the play making prowess of James, while the King passed Shaquille O'Neal for fourth on the NBA's all-time postseason scoring list, behind only Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar - who was in the building for Game 2 - and Michael Jordan.

Does he get the credit he deserves? Probably not. A two-time champion, his legacy will continue to be debated until and unless he's able to match, or at least come closer to, Jordan's six rings. After winning a couple with the Heat, he's on a mission to bring a title to Cleveland.

"Look, he's a great player," Casey said. "I don't know how many more adjectives I can give him. He's a great player, he's playing great, he's assisting, but I'm more concerned about the Toronto Raptors. They're a great team and we respect them, but we're here to win. We're not here to increase his legacy, we're trying to take his legacy. We're trying to win."

More and more, the Raptors appear to be a footnote on his journey.