CLEVELAND — The end of something unexpected or the start of a new adventure.
Either possibility lies ahead of the Toronto Raptors as they get ready for Game 7 of their first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night.
If they lose and their season comes to an end, it will be with the comfort of a job well done after a campaign that saw the Raptors exceed all expectations except perhaps their own with 46 wins and a fifth-place finish in the East. And had the series with Cleveland been brutish and short — and it certainly looked that way after a pair of double-digit losses to the heavily favoured Cavs — there would have been some uncomfortable questions about how the Raptors might build from here. Instead, extending the series to seven games has opened some eyes regarding the Raptors’ collective potential going forward.
If they win, it will vault the Raptors into the second round for the first time since 2020, when the team was still being lifted by the vapour trail of their 2019 championship. A second-round series against the winner of the showdown between Detroit and Orlando — Game 7 in that series will tip off at 3:30 this afternoon in Detroit, so the Raptors will know who will be waiting on them by the time the ball goes up for their game tonight (Sportsnet ONE, 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT) — will give a Raptors team driven by their youngish talent another crucible to advance their growth.
As we await the unknown, a Raptors notebook to tide everyone over.
Three-point Grange (Game 7 preview edition)
1. It was fun in the moment:
It didn’t take long for reactions to RJ Barrett’s miraculous game-winner in overtime of Game 6 to filter in. Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton posted “That looked familiar” on social media, referring to the three he hit to force overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals last year that had a similar back-rim-and-up bounce. Barrett’s shot to force Game 7 was shouted out and appreciated by LeBron James, as Toronto extending the series meant that his Los Angeles Lakers would start their second-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday rather than Sunday, giving Los Angeles more time to rest and get back to health.
But one person who hasn’t paid much attention to the aftermath of his big shot is Barrett. “I’ve been trying to stay off my phone as much as possible, not to take anything away from the shot,” said Barrett at the Raptors shootaround in Cleveland Sunday morning. “I’m very thankful, it was a great shot. I was very, very happy in the moment, but we got to move on. [But] that shot won’t mean much if we don’t get the job done here tonight.”
2. When questionable is doubtful:
The Raptors have listed Brandon Ingram as questionable for Game 7 with inflammation in his right heel. The issue cropped up late in the regular season — he missed three games in the space of 10 days beginning March 23rd with the same issue, but played the last six games of the season without concern and started the first five of the playoffs before leaving Game 5 early in the second quarter when the heel flared up.
The NBA’s injury reporting conventions go from ‘out’ to ‘doubtful’ to ‘questionable’ to ‘probable’ to ‘active’. Ingram was initially listed as questionable for Game 6 before being downgraded to doubtful the morning of the game, then was ruled out a couple of hours before the tip. It’s hard to see Ingram going from a walking boot to the starting lineup in Game 7, but stranger things have happened.
3. Nothing easy
On one hand, the Raptors can look at the level of defence they have played to close out games in the latter part of this series and take some considerable pride in it. In the fourth quarter and overtime of Games 4, 5 and 6, the Raptors have held Cleveland to just 26.3 points, which is well below Cleveland’s league-leading 30 points per game in the regular season. The Raptors held Cleveland to just 23 points in the fourth quarter of Game 6 and just eight more points in the five-minute overtime.
On the other hand, Toronto has needed that level of defence because its offence has been a quagmire. Toronto scored just 17 points in 17 minutes and 58 seconds in the fourth quarter and overtime of Game 6. Only their 11-point lead to start the fourth and Barrett’s dramatic game-winner with 1.2 seconds left in the extra period allowed them to extend the series.
In the fourth quarter of the last three games, the Raptors have an offensive rating of just 93.9 points per 100 possessions. It’s been brushed over somewhat because the Raptors have won two of those games, but only the Orlando Magic have been worse offensively during the same stretch, and they set a playoff record by scoring just 19 points in the second half when they blew a 24-point lead to Detroit in Game 6 of their series. In the regular season, the Phoenix Suns had the NBA’s worst fourth-quarter offence with a rating of 107.4 points per 100 possessions. The Raptors were 23rd, averaging 110.3 points per 100. The Raptors would likely take that level of production in Game 7 and sprint to the second round.
The recipe for more late-game success? “Make shots,” said Jamal Shead, who will likely get the start again tonight if Ingram can’t play. “I think we get a lot of good looks; we just didn’t convert a bunch. And then just make sure we get the ball in Scottie and RJ’s hands and let them create a little more.”
