May 24, 2016
Raps must buck trend on road to reach NBA Finals
If the Toronto Raptors are to advance to the NBA Finals, they’re going to have to do something that they haven’t done all season: win on the road in Cleveland.
TSN.ca Staff
If the Toronto Raptors are to advance to the NBA Finals, they’re going to have to do something that they haven’t done all season: win on the road in Cleveland.
So while the Cavaliers are staggered after dropping Games 3 and 4 in Toronto for their first losses of the postseason, they can take solace in knowing that the comforts of the Quicken Loans Arena and home await in Game 5.
But waiting out the Raptors might not be the best tact when the Dinos have wrested away momentum in the series from the defending Eastern Conference champions.
HOME COOKIN'
DATE | HOME | HOME FG% | HOME LEADER | AWAY | AWAY FG% | AWAY LEADER | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
November 25 | Raptors 103 | 50.6% | Kyle Lowry (27) | Cavaliers 99 | 43.9% | LeBron James (24) | |
January 4 | Cavaliers 122 | 55.4% | Kyrie Irving (25) | Raptors 100 | 49.3% | Kyle Lowry (23) | |
February 26 | Raptors 99 | 50.7% | Kyle Lowry (43) | Cavaliers 97 | 47.3% | LeBron James (25) | |
May 17 | Cavaliers 115 | 55.4% | Kyrie Irving (27) | Raptors 84 | 42.1% | DeMar DeRozan (18) | |
May 19 | Cavaliers 108 | 50.0% | Kyrie Irving (26) | Raptors 89 | 42.2% | DeMar DeRozan (22) | |
May 21 | Raptors 99 | 45.8% | DeMar DeRozan (32) | Cavaliers 84 | 35.4% | LeBron James (24) | |
May 23 | Raptors 105 | 53.8% | Kyle Lowry (35) | Cavaliers 99 | 47.0% | LeBron James (29) | |
AVERAGE | 107 | 51.7% | - | 93 | 43.9% | - |
The home team in all seven games between the Eastern Conference’s top two teams has been victorious and it hasn't been close. On average, the home team has won by 14 points on nearly eight per-cent better shooting. This is the trend the Raptors must buck in order to reach the franchise's first NBA Finals.
"They have a great home crowd," Cavs coach Ty Lue said after Game 4. "We have a great home crowd. That crowd gives them energy, just like our crowd gives us energy."
At 33-8, the Cavs had the best home record in the Eastern Conference this past year, one game better than the Raptors. That one-game advantage gave the Cavs home-court advantage and the knowledge that winning the remaining two games at home is enough for another trip to the NBA Finals.
That could be easier said than done, though, considering the revitalized backcourt tandem of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, as well as the emergence of Bismack Biyombo as a defensive force have thrusted the Raptors right back into a series that looked to over after its first two games.
And consider history. Is there a parallel between this Cavs team and the 2012 San Antonio Spurs, the last team to start the playoffs 10-0?
The Spurs swept through the first two rounds of the Western Conference playoffs and then took the first two games of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They then proceeded to drop four in a row.
The Cavs are halfway there right now and need a hard reset in Game 5.