In fact, James may be more lethal now than ever.
Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) reacts in the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game two of the second round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena.
It happened. As uninspiring as it was, Toronto advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Today, you have to beat LeBron James or the Warriors' paid-for juggernaut just to get there.
They're the only team to record six sweeps in seven-game series over a three-year span, according to ESPN Stats and Information. It's going to be my ninth time in 14 years.
In the playoffs, the Raptors had trouble against the defenses of Milwaukee and Cleveland, and the lack of 3-point shooting was evident, especially against the Cavs.
For the Spurs, Kawhi Leonard wasn't himself, finishing with 16 points in 30 minutes.
What the president thinks, and how it shakes out, could determine whether the Raptors remain in the thick of the Eastern Conference race or start an arduous rebuilding process.
"We don't have LeBron", Lowry said. He will surely be asked about the players headed to free agency, the coaching staff and if the Raptors have what it takes to transform from one of the best teams in the East to one that can win it all.
The others - the future of P.J. Tucker and Serge Ibaka, the need for additional shooting and playmaking, whether to bring back Patrick Patterson or not - are just noise compared the Lowry-Casey coupling.
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Cleveland had a 12-point lead after the first half and entered the fourth quarter ahead by five.
"There's always areas in our team, in our play, that I feel like I can do a better job, our staff, we all can do better", Casey said.
That push never came though, with the Cavs eviscerating the one team that everyone has pegged as their top challenger the last two seasons.
Toronto Raptors All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry confirmed Monday he will opt out of the final year of his contract and test free agency this summer. The Raptors have made the playoffs four seasons in a row. He hit 13 3-pointers; no Raptor had more than six. Well, Toronto actually made one more field goal than Cleveland in the series, but the Cavs scored way more points and won easily because of all of their three-point makes ...
Trailing 53-48 before the run, Washington led 74-53 on Porter's layup with 5 minutes left in the third. "That does not mean we're far away", Ibaka said. "We have another level and we believe we can get there". DeRozan and Lowry were all-stars again, and the team acquired two prime pieces at the trade deadline in Tucker and Ibaka.
"Even when we had our bad days, our good days, we stuck by him", DeRozan said.
Casey tried to preach the positives, but acknowledged that his team's performance hadn't been good enough. Along the way, the Cavaliers won in the playoffs for the 11th consecutive victory, and LeBron James won the 31-th series in his career and surpassed the legendary Michael Jordan. The Raptors trimmed the lead to one point early in the fourth on a 3-point shot by Fred VanVleet but James answered with a 3-pointer.
Bradley Beal scored 29 points and the Washington Wizards used a 26-0 third-quarter run to beat the Boston Celtics to tie the series at two games apiece. He was not active Sunday.
DeRozan really isn't going out on much of a limb with this statement.
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