Cavs ranked last among playoff teams in key defensive stat. That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy for Raptors, but there’s reason for hope.
Here they are again, the Cleveland Cavaliers rolling through the NBA playoffs: a respected and feared group of time-tested veterans seen once again as the favourites to win the Eastern Conference title and get the chance to repeat as league champions.
That is not usual — it has been that way for years now — but the journey this season has been pockmarked by signs of vulnerability that give rise to at least a modicum of optimism for teams that have to face them.