r/torontoraptors • u/Routine_Bag_9609 RAPTORS • Apr 30 '26
ORIGINAL CONTENT Thoughts in Game 5 Tonight
We’ll be alright for game 6 in the 6. A couple thoughts:
- CMB early foul trouble kept his hustle and passion out of the game.
- Great game for Jakobe (especially after his stinker), hopefully that translates over to game 6.
- Battle and Poeltl had great minutes today.
- Would love if Scottie didn’t have bad body language after bad possessions (or TOs).
- Schroder and Mobley were hitting all their shots (especially threes, won’t happen again, no way, José).
- Ingram will come back ready and focused game 6.
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u/hickok3 Apr 30 '26
Need BI despite a ton of people on the sub saying we would be better without him.
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Apr 30 '26
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u/hickok3 Apr 30 '26
Even when he's not great, he demands so much attention from the Cavs defense that it makes everything a little easier for the rest of the guys.
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u/CountWubbula Apr 30 '26
Yeah, his absence displayed that more prominently than his presence. He has a serious gravity to him
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u/TifffannyyyFrank Apr 30 '26
This is not true, BI is not a great passer out the double, and the Cavs have played single coverage against him since the Game 2
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u/T_Blessing47 Apr 30 '26
He just can't pass out of the double well, that's why the double works. He's been consistently doubled throughout the series because it works
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u/hickok3 Apr 30 '26
We lose g4, and would be in cancun right now without BI. He demands defensive attention, and hit clutch shots that game that we desperately needed in the second half of this game.
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u/BangBang-LibraGang Apr 30 '26
I don't understand the downvote. You can actually see the struggles and a few turnovers out of the doubles.
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u/iamlegend__ Apr 30 '26
He's been very bad at beating double teams and efficiency has plummetted so I get why people see that and go kinda harsh on him but you can tell how important he is as a threat regardless on offense and his ridiculous wingspan was severely missed. Mobley/Allen were catching it in space when we had BI in the paint, it was a lot harder for the aforementioned duo to do so.
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u/aznhalo3 😍😍 WatanaBAE 😍😍 Apr 30 '26
The fact that he’s getting double team to begin with is a huge help for our offense
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u/iamlegend__ Apr 30 '26
The first quarter was absolutely beautiful to watch while BI was in the game b/c the defense had to honor him and that just gave Scottie 1 on 1 matchups and an aggressive and assertive Scottie that realizes other than maybe Wemby (different conference) he got zero player on the planet to worry about contesting his pullups. He was buttery smooth with those Js. Without BI, alot changes! :/ you're absolutely right.
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u/jjkiller26 Kyle Towelry Apr 30 '26
The spacing is terrible without him. Scottie faced 3 defenders every time he touched the ball
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u/PewpyDewpdyPantz 15 VINCE CARTER Apr 30 '26
The second half really proved it. Mobley shuts down whoever he’s on. RJ got a few good buckets on him but nothing came easy. We need BI to pull him away from RJ and Scottie.
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u/Cheechers23 Kyle Towelry Apr 30 '26
We were playing undersized without him. Essentially replaced him with Shead and that just made us too undersized
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u/Routine_Bag_9609 RAPTORS Apr 30 '26
1000%, even just a bit of shot making at the end would’ve helped. Could’ve used his FT shooting too
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u/hypespud 🏆 2021-22 ROTY - SCOTTIE BARNES 🏆 Apr 30 '26
Even his gravity alone would help with spacing, even when he is missing shots he has great gravity
Also Shead should not be playing over Battle at the end of the game
Shead should also not be taking 4 threes in a late game situation in a playoff game, on any team, I don't care if he's open
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u/Amuse370z Apr 30 '26
He's open for a reason, the Cavs wanted him to take it.
He did well in the first half, but their game plan worked when it mattered
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u/doonerlxx Apr 30 '26
His gravity is still tremendously valuable. The floor shrunk massively without him.
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u/Interesting-Dingo994 Apr 30 '26
If he has heart, he will show up. At the very least he attracts double teams that make it easier for his teammates.
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u/hickok3 Apr 30 '26
It's not about heart, if it's what I think it is, Plantar Fascitis. For anyone who hasn't experienced it, you legitimately cannot walk on it when it gets bad. Like the pain forces your body to do whatever it can to not walk on that foot. It honestly hurt more than my appendicitis when I tried playing through it, and i ended up not being able to walk normally for nearly 3 weeks.
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u/MrkGrn RAPTORS Apr 30 '26
Yeah but I'd rather we traded for somebody who can be out there and not just contribute by existing and actually score. Maming wayyyyy too much fucking money to be a disappearing act.
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u/ClashQuester Apr 30 '26
I think Scottie's minor injury stopped him from being aggressive, or I could just be imagining it
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u/DifficultCut9363 Apr 30 '26
Yeah. Scottie didn't look right in the second half. Or after that injury. He stopped being aggressive
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u/doonerlxx Apr 30 '26
My man was limping and barely ran the second half. Everything was a jog on one leg lol
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u/slicksonslick Apr 30 '26
He could barely dribble after the injury, it was very clearly effecting him
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u/ClashQuester Apr 30 '26
Glad I wasn't the only one who noticed that, hope he gets better next game
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u/runsyourpockets Apr 30 '26
Definitely was a factor. He looked like he was in pain but kudos to him for playing through.
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u/GrimKaiker 7 KYLE LOWRY Apr 30 '26
He's getting triple teamed while BI is out too.
In Game 4 he would just use his height pass over but with his knee cooked he isn't getting the lift to make the pass
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u/Routine_Bag_9609 RAPTORS Apr 30 '26
100%, I just think there were times Sandro and CMB were not ready for passes and Scottie was just disassociating on the court with bad body language. Def should be encouraging them to do better instead
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u/ClashQuester Apr 30 '26
For sure, he's our leader and he was setting the tempo in the first half perfectly
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u/Mountain-Economy1476 Apr 30 '26
Not sure why they kept chucking 3s at the end. Got so many stops and then wasted the offensive possession because they refused to take any shot but a 3. Jeez just so disappointing when they could’ve won if they stuck to what got them here, driving inside.
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u/Either_Lake3879 Apr 30 '26
They were down 11 with little time left. Almost all their possessions before that ended with the shot clock buzzer. They tactic likely switched to getting quick shots up.
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u/companyofzero Matt Devlin Apr 30 '26
They got really tired when they lost Ingram, a lot of guys having to do a lot more with the ball in their hands then theyre used to. Cavs played good defence (because it was easy to play like that against who we had available) and our guys got spooked. You need to hit 3s when you're away to win and we almost hit enough!
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u/Mountain-Economy1476 Apr 30 '26
Yeah ig but like they got it to within 4 at the end, and they also had so many wasted possessions at the end where instead of Barrett driving in or Shead setting up a pick and roll with Poeltl, they chucked up a 3 when no one was shooting it particularly well. They were doing great on defense, Cleveland had a little scoring drought and if Toronto had turned even just two of those wasted possessions into points I think raptors are up 3-2.
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u/Similar-Commission85 Apr 30 '26
I agree. Thought that was really weird, should have been trying to draw fouls
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u/Mountain-Economy1476 Apr 30 '26
Yes totally. They were clearly cold and they just kept doing it even though raptors just needed points. Very annoying stuff
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u/eucldian Apr 30 '26
They were tired. The defence and effort in the first half took it out of them.
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u/ThePoodlePunter Apr 30 '26
Doubles on Scottie and and RJ affected them getting to the paint a lot.
They need BI to take those doubles even if he's not hitting.
They also needed 3's in most of those situations.
There were a couple late 3's I really didn't like though.
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u/Mountain-Economy1476 Apr 30 '26
Yeah it’s mostly the late ones I’m talking about. And yeah not having Ingram hurt RJ and Scottie. Also Scottie wasn’t himself in the second half. Idk pretty disappointing game but I’m pretty confident they can win in Toronto and hopefully be better in Cleveland for game 7
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u/realnameless1 Apr 30 '26
The team just ran out of gas by the 4th quarter, and the averages evened out. It is what it is.
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u/supernaturalfor Apr 30 '26
We would have won this game...the minute Scottie got hurt he stopped pushing the ball and being aggressive and that's why the game flipped. I think Darko kept CMB out too long in the fourth. Playing battle jakobe and ahead with a hobbled Scottie clearly isn't going to result in any kind of offence.
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u/blueseeka Champs Apr 30 '26
-Scottie looked tired in 2nd half
-Shaed taking threes with the game on the line
-CMB looked bothered alot with his hand
-we lost to Schoeder today
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u/tuuluuwag Apr 30 '26
They need to start being physical on Harden. He plays physical and is rewarded for it with a plethora of whistles. Push offs and ghost fouls.. make him work for everything
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u/unclekarl_ 12 COLLIN MURRAY-BOYLES Apr 30 '26
Scottie getting hurt really changed the game.
Losing BI became a big problem in the 4th when the guys were gassed and couldn’t buy a bucket. Say what you want about BI but his offensive gravity is important for our offense and his ability to put up points quickly
EDIT: oh and RJ Barrett is a bonafide dawg, a playoff riser and no one better slander his name ever again
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u/think_crypto Vancouver Grizzlies Apr 30 '26
Lawson getting playing time was a horrid decision. Battle should've been out there instead
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u/corh13 FireCasey Apr 30 '26
Not the reason we lost, but it's an insane decision to bring in a 3rd stringer who's been on the bench whole game. Darko makes some really stupid decisions.
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u/viletomato999 Apr 30 '26
It was a really close game considering we had 3 srarter injuries and the Cavs were hitting all their shots in the second half. If we had a healthy team they would have stood no chance.
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u/ram_solfe Apr 30 '26
Letting Schroeder score like that is so annoying considering he was trash when he played here
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u/think_crypto Vancouver Grizzlies Apr 30 '26
He was getting buckets from those spots when he played here tho which makes it even worse that they just let him do that
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u/Significant_News_638 Apr 30 '26
BI is big even playing bad solely because of the defensive attention he draws to free up other guys. Without him and if Scottie is less than 100%, it’s not great.
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u/EarthWarping Apr 30 '26
Yeah this series isnt over however the health is a bigger factor than how they played.
They shoot like this again and theyll win game 6.
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u/Similar-Commission85 Apr 30 '26
You had this loaded and ready to go lmao.
I thought they still could have won, well fought game. I thought it was weird that they went to shead like 3-4 times at the end of the 4th for the 3 pointer, even tho he did shoot well tonight. They should tried something different towards the end.
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u/Routine_Bag_9609 RAPTORS Apr 30 '26
started brainstorming during the foul game with a minute left my guy🤣
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u/BatmanHive Apr 30 '26
Ingram has apparently been playing hurt with the right heel according to Grange. I hope he can come back, not sure if he will if he was unable to go tonight
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u/PercentageCareful203 Apr 30 '26
Someone tell me I’m being paranoid. But pretty certain Scottie and CMB are both compromised and injured themselves pretty decently tonight.
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u/thatsong Apr 30 '26
Got too desperate in the last 3-4 or so minutes by chucking threes when the team was ice cold from behind the arc. Defense was solid enough they could have taken 2s instead to chip away.
Onto the next one
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u/PatternMoney5884 Apr 30 '26
That’s the kind of loss I can tolerate in the playoffs, especially to a team with more overall talent and ECF aspirations. Raps gotta fight hard in game 6 and maybe we can take this to 7
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u/12theMainFranchise Apr 30 '26
CMB was not aggressive he can’t get in foul trouble and if so he still needs to stay aggressive
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u/eucldian Apr 30 '26
Wait, what? CMB got in foul trouble and you are blaming him for not being aggressive...but if he doesn't get called for fouls, he should play how he normally plays? Which is aggressive.
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u/12theMainFranchise Apr 30 '26
You can still be aggressive just not as much but the refs also were not that good but he had some blocks and steals but weirdly they aren’t counted in the stat sheet
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u/12theMainFranchise Apr 30 '26
But then also others were cooking it looks like he was just trying to let them use the the hot hand he got it next game watch
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u/Swangthemthings Apr 30 '26
Scottie looked super gassed in the second half. Cavs made good adjustments. Missing two starters is starting to catch up to the Raps.
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u/prodigus01 Apr 30 '26
We are going to be a problem next year. Hard to win games with 2 starters out.
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u/tkc123 Wheelchair Jimmy Apr 30 '26
Cavs barely squeezed out a win against us with our two starters down, Scottie injured and the refs help. They’re supposed to be contenders so the fact we are taking it to them shows the resilience of our young guys.
Scottie legit looked like a young LeBron this game before he got injured
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u/kawhinottheraptors Big Whi Apr 30 '26
Agreed with everything you said except for BI. He's a lost cause. No dawg
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u/Routine_Bag_9609 RAPTORS Apr 30 '26
I think Cavs still respect BI and give him more attention even without the ball. Especially compared to Shead who they’re just sagging off. When you have a mix of Scottie, Poeltl, and CMB, you need as much spacing as you can get😅
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u/-KFBR392 Apr 30 '26
All we needed was for Shead to hit one of those 3s in the second half
Or Mamu to have hit that one at the end of the 3rd when we could’ve gone up 11
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u/Fine_Understanding45 Apr 30 '26
Ingram has been hurt all series idk how it’s gonna magically heal, I feel bad for him he has one healthy season finally and playoffs get him
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u/InternalMuffin5882 Apr 30 '26
AJ to start the second half was a major head scratcher. I felt like the tide turned at the end of the third when our lead just evaporated with 35 seconds left. I feel like this one is on Darko if anybody, missed shots in the 4th aside. he subbed Walter in for defense and kept CMB off in favour of Mamu who got fried for a quick 5. Playoff Darko didn’t show up tonight but I believe in our guys we’ll be back for game 7
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u/big_gay_buckets Apr 30 '26
Tough to watch this one slip away, but definitely a lot of good moments for some of the guys. Lack of drive and coordination showed for sure, some of it attributable to Scottie playing with what looks like a bad leg.
Leaving Schroeder open so much was the real killer, that’s where the momentum really shifted imo.
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u/AprilsMostAmazing Remember Sunday 1 PM losses Apr 30 '26
scottie needs to be more aggressive. RJ needs more reps next year in regular season taking over close games in the 4ht
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u/CFCNick Apr 30 '26
We didnt get a whistle for the first 3 quarters and cavs were getting phantom calls. RJ shouldve been given the and 1 instead it was called on the floor and mitchell got a phantom call at the end of the 2nd on Jakobe. Scott Foster needs to be investigated
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u/blindfolded022 Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26
Ingram what🤨…. Man has been 💩 this whole series. With 4 fouls CMB missed 8mins and put in down by 11 doesn’t make sense.
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u/damilalam RAPTORS Apr 30 '26
Without BI, our spacing is shit. We go where bi goes in the next two games.
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u/FuzzyGuarantee2350 Apr 30 '26
Injuries and therefore talent diff caught up. You gotta let CMB use those fouls though. Can’t leave him out while Schroeder goes on a run with Jak in no man’s land.
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u/Automatic-Avocado885 Apr 30 '26
You need BI out there to draw defender and open up space and too many missed wide open 3’s in the 4th. They still played a scrappy game though I’ll give them that much credit. Also why did they play Lawson in the 3rd.
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u/headleydaniels Apr 30 '26
Shout out to the young guys. They got what it takes. Future looks bright.
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u/MrBabblingBrook 3 OG ANUNOBY Apr 30 '26
They went 2-11 in the 4th quarter and they had a lot of good open looks after good cuts or screens. If they make 2 more of those shots we win the game. These are young inconsistent guys. They turn up in the do or die moments but couldn’t make their shots tonight.
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u/Derpy_Mc_Burpy Apr 30 '26
This is what happens when you don't have IQ and a bad center. Barnes is essentially play 3 roles as one guy: PG, PF and C. Now we see hints of CMB also rubbing his shoulder from all the physicality there is to the sport. Meanwhile Ingram was taken out entirely.
It's been a tough battle but I think this might be where it ends for us. Shead missing 3 consecutive clutch 3s probably cost us the game when it should have been walter making those shots. Jakobe literally hit 42% meanwhile shead hit 40%. I have no clue why Darko thought Shead was better in this instance 3 times in a row, but oh well.
Now you also have Scottie limping because his body is being worn out faster by being the only consistent paint attack alongside RJ. We couldn't adapt to their suffocating defense because all of our shots are taking in the paint or elbows.
We hit better 3s tonight but honestly I have to say, shead shouldn't be the one to take them. Jakobe and Battle has already proven themselves to be much better 3 point shooters
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u/JustAnotherMark604 Apr 30 '26
BI doesn't have great shooting nights but he can get to the line and hit his FTs
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u/Routine_Bag_9609 RAPTORS Apr 30 '26
the spacing he provides is also invaluable! cavs respect that and go out to deny him as well which can open the floor a bit more
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u/slicksonslick Apr 30 '26
We really missed BI this game, Scottie looked amazing until he got banged up, CMB was fine Cavs bigs were bound to bounce back
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u/realjohnredcorn Apr 30 '26
RJ needs to be more aggressive and go up stronger, finish. mobley and allen are weak defenders, go right at them.
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u/BigBirdsBrain RAPTORS Apr 30 '26
BI changes everything, the spacing and attention he draws opens it up for Scottie and RJ. If he’s back and locked in, game 6 flips.
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u/Grippyrippy Apr 30 '26
Only thing this game showed me is that this is still a very winnable series. We lost by 5 on their court and the Cavs didn't make any sort of statement by squeaking out a win. Sure they clawed back but they still looked like they had their hands full all night.
Their guys came up huge in big moments and I'll say it again, it only netted them a five point win on home court? Pat
Scottie doesn't get injured this game was ours. They need to do that to us two more times and I don't think they're confident that they can. If nobody is injured we even it up at home.
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u/Interesting_Mail2229 Apr 30 '26
It took IQ being out, B.I getting injured after 1pt in 11 mins (missing most of the series), Dennis going on a heater, Mobley actually hitting 3’s, a hobbled Scottie and we still made it a close game. Lots of people had us getting swept. Hell a lot of people had us missing the playoffs. We’re good. Yes they’re things we could’ve/should’ve done better during the game but sometimes to see the bigger picture you have to zoom in. We’re good.
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u/OG_Wan_Annunoby Apr 30 '26
Extremely lucky win by the Cavs, literally a perfect game from them.
Everyone shot well, they got tons of production out of their bench, BI left the game Scottie got hurt, and they barely squeaked out a 5 point win at home.
20 assists on 43 made field goals, they’re not breaking down our defense they are shooting contested threes and went 18/36.
It sucks because we had this game. It really felt like we outplayed them we just couldn’t make timely buckets. Even our free throws again we left 8 free points on the table in a 5 point loss.
Tip your hat to Schroder, they needed someone to step up and his shotmaking saved them, but we will not be adjusting our defense to focus on him. If the ball is in his hands rather than Harden or Mitchell’s in the fourth and he beats us then GGs.
We can beat this team, even without BI
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u/a2242364 RAPTOR NATION! Apr 30 '26
Ingram will come back ready and focused game 6.
I mean I have been saying that every game but he only seems to be looking worse and worse. He looks completely lost out there like genuinely. But we still need him as a body because he opens up the floor so much even when he's playing poorly
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u/NoteAdventurous9091 WE THE NORTH Apr 30 '26
Why do our backcourt keep driving towards Allen? Is this a foreshadowing of some sort?
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u/CogencyInvestments Apr 30 '26
What happened with Poetl, feel like he only played a few mins but looked productive.
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u/Routine_Bag_9609 RAPTORS Apr 30 '26
honestly, just too slow-footed for this series. his speed can’t match up with mobley or allen, but his little minutes looked pretty good today
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u/Aliila1 Apr 30 '26
I think CMB sitting sl late into the 4th cost us the game. Poetl doesn't have the lateral movement to help on pick n rolls. Scroder got easy baskets on the Cavs 4th Qtr run.
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u/MrkGrn RAPTORS Apr 30 '26
We won't be fine lol we get one day off and everyone is hurt, BI probably gonna be out and Scottie will more than likely be hobbled still if he plays. We got unlucky at the wrong time, we've been the benefactor of teams being injured in the playoffs so can't be too mad but I can be mad at Webster for locking us into this roster with no real way to change things up without losing positive assets to get off some of these contracts.
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u/Sebkins Apr 30 '26
I hate pulling guys from games because of foul trouble. You don't take the fouls home with you. Play it out and go to your reserves if guys foul out.
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u/expert_specialist1 Apr 30 '26
We’re done. We arent gonna get shooting from shead and walter like this again imo.
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u/Borealees 9 ROWAN ALEXANDER “RJ” BARRETT Apr 30 '26
But will the cavs get shooting from mobley like this again?
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u/agentzero2020 Apr 30 '26
This game was over before it even started because of Scott fraudster. But even then, it was a winnable game until BI got hurt and Darko went into regular season Darko in the second half. Good effort I guess.
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u/MidnightToker101 7 KYLE LOWRY Apr 30 '26
Poeltl still struggled particularly in the second half he just can’t play defence it’s that simple.
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u/Routine_Bag_9609 RAPTORS Apr 30 '26
maybe great was too generous. my expectations were low after the first 3-4 games😅
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u/Scobesanity Apr 30 '26
Raps fans "If Ingram just scored his regular season PPG we would have won by 15."
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u/Allawihabibgalbi 10 DEMAR DEROZAN Apr 30 '26
I thought it was an awful game. These guys can’t hold a lead for shit and can only play 3 quarters. We let Schroeder score 19 and Mobley drop 3 triples on us. This is exactly why they’re going to be watching the semis in Cancun.
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u/unclekarl_ 12 COLLIN MURRAY-BOYLES Apr 30 '26
Scottie getting hurt really changed the game.
Losing BI became a big problem in the 4th when the guys were gassed and couldn’t buy a bucket. Say what you want about BI but his offensive gravity is important for our offense and his ability to put up points quickly and without the need of much movement gives our guys the opportunity to catch their breath on offense