TORONTO — Until further notice, the Cavaliers don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt because they have not earned it.
The negative narratives surrounding their playoff history during the Donovan Mitchell era are fair because the Cavs have yet to prove those talking points are unwarranted.
The fourth-seeded Cavs crossed the U.S.-Canada border with a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series against the fifth-seeded Toronto Raptors. After the Cavs failed to take care of business not once — but twice — in Toronto, the best-of-seven series is tied 2-2 as it heads back to Cleveland for Game 5 on Wednesday, April 29.
The Cavs fell 93-89 in a Game 4 so ugly it’s hard to describe. The quality of basketball couldn’t hold a candle to the Mid-American Conference. Regardless, the Cavs had plenty of chances to gut out a victory. Instead, they fell flat on their faces.
What has haunted the Cavs this time of year since they traded for Mitchell in 2022 continues to hang over them.
Too soft. Not tough enough mentally or physically. Almost never consistently the aggressor, especially on the road.
Those demons haven’t been exorcised.
Meanwhile, the Cavs seem to be in denial about their shortcomings in Toronto.
The Cavs will tell you they’re a different team this time around because they traded for 11-time All-Star point guard James Harden in February. Harden stated the Cavs would respond to their Game 3 letdown. Then in Game 4, the Cavs reminded everyone talk is cheap.
Harden and fellow Cavs star guard Donovan Mitchell are more aware of the labels they carry than anyone else. NBA observers are quick to point out Harden is no longer a clutch playoff performer. He has never won a championship, and Mitchell has never advanced beyond the second round. The Cavs’ two best players did little to convince anyone those perceptions or facts about them will change this postseason.
Perhaps this is the best way to illustrate how embarrassing Game 4 proved to be for the Cavs: They lost despite the Raptors finishing 4-of-30 shooting (13.3%) on 3-pointers. According to ESPN, the Raptors had the lowest 3-point shooting percentage of any team with at least 25 attempts in a playoff win during the 3-point era.
“We had an opportunity definitely tonight to win the game, and I think we’re definitely confident about where we are,” Harden said.
Game 4 is quite the test of faith, though. To be fair, don’t forget the Cavs basically dominated Games 1 and 2 at Rocket Arena. Harden said the team’s Jekyll and Hyde act at home and on the road is “definitely mental.” Never mind theories about the Cavs being mature enough to handle the road better than they have.
“The game of basketball is mental,” Harden said. “When things are going crazy, the crowd’s going crazy, they make a run, we make a run, you still got to focus on the task at hand and what you’re supposed to be doing. So, I think, at times, we were really good, and sometimes we just didn’t execute down the stretch, which cost us the game.”
Coming off a 126-104 letdown in Game 3, the Cavs couldn’t stop talking about the need to play with greater “force.” However, they were hit in the mouth early in Game 4 and never played as if they were throwing the first punch.
The Raptors outrebounded them 59-56 (21-16 on the offensive end) and outscored them 50-38 in the paint. The Cavs also lost the turnover battle 18-12, led in the negative category by Harden’s seven, including six in the first half. The most crucial turnover, though, belonged to Mitchell — an eight-second violation with 40.8 seconds left and the Cavs ahead 87-86. The Cavs were outscored 17-7 in points off turnovers and 19-7 in second-chance points.
“Confidence can’t falter because we missed shots,” Mitchell said. “We made mistakes. And if I felt like our confidence was down, I don’t think we hold this team to 93 points and do a solid job defensively.”
The problem with Mitchell’s argument is the Raptors missed plenty of open shots from the perimeter.
After Mitchell’s eight-second violation, the Raptors gave the Cavs a slow, painful death by free throws. Forward Scottie Barnes made six in the final stretch, and guard RJ Barrett split a pair. Barnes and forward Brandon Ingram led the Raptors with 23 points apiece. Rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles continued to torture the Cavs’ big men, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench.
Mitchell scored 12 of his team-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, but he didn’t finish strong. He missed a floater with the Cavs behind by a point with 24.6 seconds left and a 3-pointer with the Cavs trailing by three with 10 seconds remaining. Harden had 19 points with eight assists, forward Evan Mobley eight points with nine rebounds and center Jarrett Allen three points with 15 rebounds.
And the Cavs’ collective performance in crunch time was unfathomable. They were outscored 10-0 in the final two minutes of the second quarter, 7-0 in the final two minutes of the third quarter and 12-2 in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. Add it together, and they were outscored 29-2 in those most pressure-packed situations.
So, what’s your degree of confidence the Cavs will handle the pressure of losing back-to-back games well enough to eliminate the Raptors?
The Cavs will be expected to win at home, and they have home-court advantage, so they’re still positioned well in this series.
But a true contender would not have responded the way the Cavs did in Game 4.
Until further notice, the Cavs don’t fit the description of the team they fancy themselves to be.
Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavaliers haunted by playoff ghosts in series vs Raptors. Opinion
Reporting by Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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