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The Cleveland Cavaliers will host the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Finals battle. Join The Roar for our live blog and scores from 10:30am (AEST).
This series has really turned on its head after the Cavaliers trounced the Raptors in Games 1 and 2 by a combined 50 points. Once the series moved to Toronto momentum shifted with it.
Cleveland’s players seemed to leave their abilities at home and didn’t seem interested in finding them anytime soon. Toronto’s dynamic backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan found their form, while Bismack Biyombo took his play to another level, and the Raptors seized control.
LeBron James has been the lone hand for the Cavaliers and, while Kyrie Irving put in a good performance in Game 4, it is the third member of Cleveland’s Big Three who has gone missing in recent games.
Kevin Love has series averages of 11.5 points per game on 35 per cent shooting to go along with 5 rebounds per game and 2.75 assists per game.
These numbers do not match a player who has a price tag of around $20 million per season, especially when you look on the opposite side of the court and see a player currently worth around one-ninth of the price dominating inside.
That man is, of course, Biyombo, who pulled down more rebounds in one game (26) than Kevin Love has in the entire series.
With the series now a best of three and all the confidence with the Raptors, the Cavaliers will need a strong bounce back performance from their star players today.
Prediction
Jonas Valanciunas was active for Game 4 but wasn’t required, he should get minutes and will be integral off the bench and in the battle for the boards.
No team has lost at home in this series, however the Raptors’ confidence at the end of Game 4 was extraordinary. Expect that to carry over into Game 5.
Toronto to take it in a nail biter, 92-89.
Be sure to tune into The Roar’s live blog and scores of Game 5 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors from 10:30am (AEST) to see who will get to within one win of a trip to the NBA Finals.
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