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The eulogies are being written. With their season slipping away, the Raptors head into Cleveland tonight looking for some kind of foothold. Down 0-2 after losing both of the first two games in Toronto — one painfully close, one blowout at the hand of a demonstrative LeBron James — tonight is really the last chance the Raptors have.
To try to psych out their opponent, who have been able to score at will through the first 96 minutes, Raptors coach Dwane Casey has alluded to a new starting lineup for Toronto, but as of yet has not revealed it.
If the Raptors are making a lineup change (and I expect they are), Casey won't reveal it until he has to. We'll find out in an hour or so.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) May 5, 2018
Smart money says that they will move Jonas Valanciunas to the bench, who has had a rough time defending the small Cleveland starters with Kevin Love at centre. It also means the Raptors don’t have to hide Serge Ibaka on a guard (he has been guarding J.R. Smith), and Toronto can just shift everything down. If there is a change tonight, bank on starting a Pascal Siakam/Ibaka frontcourt being it.
Otherwise, we all know the stakes. For the full game preview, read Ben Scott’s piece from this morning. Here’s the rest of the details.
Where to Watch
Canada - Sportsnet One
United States - ABC/ESPN
8:30 PM ET
Lineups
Cleveland - George Hill, Kyle Korver, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, Kevin Love
Toronto (last game) - Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, OG Anunoby, Serge Ibaka, Jonas Valanciunas
Injuries
Cleveland - none
Toronto - none