9 Takeaways from Cavs Game 2 win over Raptors: Physicality finally favors Cleveland

CLEVELAND — Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković was perplexed about Brandon Ingram’s lack of free throws after his team dropped Game 2 to the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-105. In the process of that complaint, he admitted something that maybe no other coach has about this era of Cavs basketball.

“Cleveland is playing with a lot of physicality,” Rajaković said. “They’re very prideful of their physicality, and their whole team was very, very physical with Brandon.”

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These comments were mostly directed at how the Cavs defended Ingram, but it also speaks to how this Cavaliers team has evolved on both ends of the floor.

Donovan Mitchell had one more thing to say to the media after his postgame press conference ended in the wake of his 30-point performance.

“As much as y’all talk about us three: me, him (James Harden), and Ev (Evan Mobley)… Dean Wade deserves a ton of credit for tonight,” Mitchell said. “I know he only had three points, but his impact is extremely high outside of just scoring. Y’all need to give him his credit. He’s playing at a high level right now for us.”

Playoff basketball often comes down to whether you can take away one of the things your opponent does best. The Cavs have made a concerted effort to make Ingram work — Toronto’s leading scorer — to impact the series with his jump shot. They’ve been physical with him at the point of attack, forcing him to work to get to his patented midrange jumper.

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And the one making it difficult for Ingram was Wade, due to his strength advantage.

It’s hard to contest a tough shotmaker like Ingram. At 6’8”, he can usually rise above his defender in the midrange for a clean look. And even if the defender does get a contest, he’s skilled enough to make them anyway.

The best defense for someone like that doesn’t necessarily come from contesting the shot, but by making it challenging for him to get to his spots. This is what Wade did.

Wade was physical and aggressive in denying Ingram the ball wherever he was on the court. The play below is an example of that.

The Raptors had to run a screen for…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/9-takeaways-cavs-game-2-100000966.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-21 10:00:00

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