NBA playoffs Sport 4 preview: Why the Cavs are favored to bounce again towards Toronto after ugly loss

[ad_1] We have now a enjoyable Sunday as there are 4 NBA video games tipping off in the present day. From 1 p.m. ET till all of us lay our heads all the way down to sleep, we're going to have hoops obtainable for us to look at. Not the regular-season rubbish, we're getting playoff basketball, the perfect of basketball. It begins with motion between the Cavs and Raptors , who're in a seven-game set with Cleveland up 2-1.

<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/04/672/378/evan-mobley-cavaliers-scottie-barnes-raptors-scaled.jpeg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/04/1344/756/evan-mobley-cavaliers-scottie-barnes-raptors-scaled.jpeg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"> Toronto Raptors ahead Scottie Barnes drives on Cleveland Cavaliers huge Evan Mobley throughout the first spherical of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Enviornment. (David Dermer-Imagn Photos)

Cleveland had a good 12 months, profitable 52 video games, however the Cavs lastly tweaked the workforce that turned in success from the previous two years. They traded away Darius Garland and turned him into James Harden . This workforce additionally has Dennis Schroder coming off the bench as a substitute of Lonzo Ball. I don’t see a lot depth exterior of him on the courtroom. Because the playoffs get deeper, the benches don’t matter fairly as a lot.

The Cavs are robust at 4 of the 5 beginning positions. They seemed nice within the first two video games of the playoffs. Within the first two video games, the Cavaliers gained each of them over the Raptors by not less than 10 factors. In Sport 3, Cleveland was blitzed by the Raptors and misplaced by 22. The problems had been each a poor capturing night time from Cleveland and a extremely good one from Toronto. It additionally didn’t assist that the Cavs had 22 turnovers.

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Toronto was a shock workforce this 12 months. Most anticipated them to battle for a Play-In spot and possibly wrestle to even get that. Nevertheless, issues clicked for the workforce, and so they turned in a 46-36 file. They had been actually good behind a mix of cast-offs and a extremely good drafted participant, Scottie Barnes. These gamers from different groups, Immanuel Quickley, Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl (although he was drafted by the Raptors, went to the Spurs, and got here again), have made this workforce aggressive.

<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/04/672/378/donovan-mitchell-james-harden-cavaliers-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/04/1344/756/donovan-mitchell-james-harden-cavaliers-fox-news-001.jpeg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"> Cleveland Cavaliers All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden speak throughout Sport 2 within the first spherical of the 2026 NBA Playoffs vs. the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio. (David Dermer/Imagn Photos)

Within the first two video games, they didn’t actually look prepared for the postseason. Nevertheless, the workforce seemed nice in Sport 3. This was a little bit of a coming-out occasion for them, nevertheless it may’ve additionally simply been an anomaly. They shot 57% from the sector and 61% from three. I simply don’t see that taking place once more. One space they struggled with was from the free-throw line. They nonetheless had been behind in rebounds, which is one thing they're more likely to wrestle with this whole collection. Barrett and Barnes each put in 33 factors for the workforce. Barnes was significantly nice, including 11 assists and 5 rebounds.

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Cleveland Cavaliers' James Harden defends Toronto Raptors ahead Brandon Ingram in Sport 2 within the Jap Convention First Spherical of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Rocket Enviornment in Ohio. (Jason Miller/Getty Photos)

You possibly can’t depend on the Raptors to shoot that nicely once more. I gained’t say the Cavs are going to shoot all that a lot better, however I do anticipate some enchancment from them. The house courtroom benefit continues to be on the facet of Toronto, however after profitable a sport, the Cavs ought to lock in for this one. I feel the perfect motion is to take the Cavs -3.5.