About this episode

The episode previews the playoff matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors, highlighting key players and team dynamics.

The Toronto Raptors swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the regular season, but none of that matters now. The Cavs are heavy favorites and rightfully so. James Harden is known as one of the greatest players of this generation, and also for his lack of a ring. He can’t resolve that blemish in the first round, but this is where such a quest must begin — with a new team, once again. Give him this: Harden smoothed his midseason transition with the Cavs by wisely being a facilitator first and foremost. This allowed him to defer to Donovan Mitchell and also put his new teammates in position to score, namely big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Meanwhile, the Raptors are young and quick and bring a group that’s fully familiar with each other and seemingly in sync. Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes and RJ Barrett will need to collectively produce for the Raptors to have a chance. This is the first playoff trip for this bunch and there are other players in the rotation who have underachieved or are still developing; you wonder how they’ll respond in the bright lights. Keep your eyes on Evan Mobley’s production. Mobley had a solid season, nearly averaging a double-double while providing a…

People in this episode

Host: Jay Crawford

Topics covered

• Cleveland Cavaliers
• Toronto Raptors
• NBA Playoffs
• James Harden
• Evan Mobley
• Player Performance

Keywords

• Cleveland Cavaliers
• Toronto Raptors
• James Harden
• Evan Mobley
• NBA Playoffs
• Brandon Ingram
• Scottie Barnes
• RJ Barrett

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors

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