The Bucks stormed back from a 25-point second half deficit during tonight’s Game 6. They even took a 2-point advantage late in the fourth quarter. DeMar DeRozan’s 32 points helped the Raps survive the furious comeback and advance to the second round of the playoffs for matchup against the Cavaliers.
In last season’s Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron James and his squad won the series 4-2. The average score of the six games was 105.8-90.3. Though the Raptors handed the Cavs two of their five postseason losses, James dominated, averaging the most points (26) and assists (6.7) per game of anyone in the series.
During this year’s regular season, Cleveland won three of their four games against Toronto. Their lone loss was the last game of the season, when the Cavs rested James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. The other three games were decided by a combined 11 points. DeRozan, who also sat out that final game, put up 29.7 points in his three games against the Cavs, while Kyle Lowry averaged 20 points and 6 assists in his four games against the Cavs.
For the Cavs, LeBron put up 27.7 points, 9.7 assists and 8.3 rebounds in his three appearances against the Raps. In his three games against the Raptors, Kyrie Irving shot nearly 50% to get his 24.7 ppg and Kevin Love pulled down over 12 rebounds and scored 21 points per game against the Raptors.
During the ’17 postseason, Toronto’s shooting has been a little off. They’re converting on 34% of their three’s and 43% of the rest of their field goals. They hit the glass pretty hard, pulling down 41.6 boards per game, but have relied on DeRozan and Lowry to score in isolation, dishing just 18.8 assists.
The Cavs have been on fire. They’ve connected on 40% of their shots from downtown and are shooting nearly 50% from the field. The Raps have a slight advantage in the rebounding category, while the Cavs are dishing out a few more assists than the Raps. James was unbelievable in the first round, averaging 32.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. He and the Cavs haven’t lost a second round game since the 2015 playoffs.
Game 1 of Cavs/Raps series is on Monday night in Cleveland at 7 EST.
