If you’re willing to invest your time in it, the Summer League is good for oddities. It starts with a showcase for lottery picks, as we drool over 19-year-olds schooling players bound for the G League. Then, it becomes a question of who will make rosters. Guys like Rawle Alkins make their pitch for a two-way contract. Finally, it reaches a state of apathy — as observers and teams alike make a bid for a title that, hopefully, some will remember. It’s also the only place where a team with a .000 regular season record can make a run at the title! So here we find the Toronto Raptors, just three wins away from doing just that. Tonight, they’ll play their quarterfinal one-and-done against the Cleveland Cavaliers, a familiar foe with none of the familiar faces. All eyes continue to be on lottery selection Collin Sexton, who is getting an audition for what might be a starting point guard job in the NBA come autumn. The Raptors, meanwhile, are doing it from the team angle (as I understand it, a man who does not invest his time in the Summer League). Alkins had a 25-point, 11-rebound outing against Charlotte yesterday, but there’s been shots made by Giddy Potts, and the all-around play of Malachi Richardson. Now, to watch and see if Cleveland really has Toronto’s number — no matter who’s wearing the jersey. Where to Watch NBA League Pass, 6 p.m. EST Lineups Toronto - Rawle Alkins, Malachi Richardson, Codi Miller-McIntyre, Alfonzo McKinnie, Shevon Thompson Cleveland - Collin Sexton, John Holland, Marcus Lee, Jamel Artis, Okaro White Injuries Toronto - Malcolm Miller (shoulder), Fuquan Edwin (knee), OG Anunoby (rest), Jordan Loyd (back spasms, day-to-day) Cleveland - Cedi Osman (rest), Ante Zizic (rest)<doc-sep>The Toronto Raptors played the Cleveland Cavaliers in a playoff game, so you already know how this ends. Perhaps it was the sheer presence of LeBron James in Las Vegas, perhaps it was the second consecutive day of rest for prized sophomore OG Anunoby. Whatever it was, it hit the Raptors hard in the third quarter of the teams’ Las Vegas Summer League meeting Sunday night. That’s when the Cavs took control, outscoring the Raptors 21-4 as part of a decisive stretch that gave them an 82-68 victory to advance to the semifinals against — wait for it — LeBron’s Los Angeles Lakers, who defeated Dwane Casey’s new team, the Detroit Pistons, 101-78. Talk about six degrees of separation. Toronto shot 1-for-15 during that putrid stretch of basketball in which they struggled getting to the basket against a Cavaliers defence that was very active with their hands, settled for tough jumpers as a result, and generally just failed to execute their sets in the half-court. It’s arguable that a team playing for the sixth time in 10 nights is bound to have a stretch like that, and Rawle Alkins’ disappearing act presents the biggest example of what fatigue can do. One night after making his case for a contract offer with a 25-point, 11-rebound outing, Alkins put up a complete dud with just three points and two rebounds. That meant the Raptors would need a big night out of Malachi Richardson or Alfonzo McKinnie, but the pair combined to shoot 4-of-17 from three-point range and needed 29 shots overall for their 28 points. The Raptors shot a woeful 30.9 per cent from the field overall and 20 per cent from three-point range, but the 40 three-point attempts tell an important part of the story. Head coach Nick Nurse is expected to continue Toronto’s movement-oriented offence, even crank things up a notch, so increase in volume of threes is part of the process. He may not have had the necessary pieces to have it be an effective strategy over the course of this summer tournament, but as is the case with these events, the process outweighs the results. One player who can leave with his head held high courtesy of strong performances through the elimination stage is Montreal’s Chris Boucher. The 25-year-old finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocks, using his length to great effect on both ends of the floor. Collin Sexton, who represents the draft pick acquired by the Cavaliers as part of the Kyrie Irving trade to Boston, led from the front with 18 points and six assists. The eighth-overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft showed off his speed several times during the game, even making it difficult for road runner Marquis Teague to keep up with him. The 19-year-old didn’t look for his jumper often, but didn’t need to, as his eight free-throw attempts in 27 minutes will attest to. John Holland also had a solid outing for the Cavs, stroking the ball from the outside to finish with 23 points on just 12 shots that included four hits from downtown. He spent last season with their NBA G League affiliate, the Canton Charge. There won’t be any more Raptors basketball till September, with the Cavs once again putting them out of business.<doc-sep>Raptors 68, Cavaliers 82 | Box Score Get your jokes in. The Cleveland Cavaliers have eliminated the Toronto Raptors in the playoffs. It’s Las Vegas Summer League, sure, and LeBron James wasn’t around to do the deed. Still, you know there will be some Nick Nurse/Dwane Casey/generic Raptors-Cavaliers jokes. It’s inevitable, and it’s your last chance until at least April and probably for a few years. Have at it. Sigh. Anyway, the game. As has been the case for the bulk of this tournament, offense was at a premium early on. That spoke well of Toronto’s defense, which was playing as it has when the team’s been at their best in Vegas, forcing three turnovers in the opening four minutes. Shot-making was hard to come by the other way, though, until Malachi Richardson hit a tough corner three to break a 2-2 dead heat nearly three minutes in. The gates opened a bit from there, as Rawle Alkins hit a three of his own and the Cavaliers got a pair of threes from John Holland and an and-one from Collin Sexton. Legs in jumpers soon started to look as tired as you might expect with a sixth game in 10 days, and the sound of balls clanking off the rim – my favorite song – became the soundtrack. A Scoochie Smith triple pushed Cleveland ahead for the game’s first semi-meaningful lead, with an Alfonzo McKinnie finish through traffic and the now-customary Giddy Potts and Chris Boucher sparks off the bench helping keep Toronto around. Boucher became the first Raptor to cross the one-basket barrier in the game at the end of the quarter, keeping the early deficit at just four after a frame. Boucher was the story again early in the second, as he finished off a really nice Alkins dump-off after timing a slide into space well around the drive, then pinned a Dakota Mathias attempt to the backboard, then made a nice post move for a dunk. Boucher’s dominance helped lead an 11-2 run across the quarters, putting Toronto back ahead until Sexton scored on a missed travel and Billy Preston followed it up by getting back to the line (a Summer League staple; dude has shot 30 percent this week but still has decent numbers because he’s shot a bunch of free throws). The tail end of the quarter was more back-and-forth with a heavy tilt toward defense – great on-ball energy and some shaky offensive decision-making were both on Toronto’s ledger – and Richardson and McKinnie did their best to keep the non-Boucher offense afloat. Toronto took a two-point lead into halftime despite shooting just 41 percent overall and 29 percent on threes, a testament to that defensive effort. The Cavs had to play without Sexton for a few minutes to start the half as he had an eye-poke looked at, and that contributed to the game’s continued offensive ineptitude just a while longer. Cleveland would tie the game early on when Alkins got called for a tough foul late in the shot clock, and Holland and Marcus Lee quickly helped extend it, with Holland in particular having a great night of shot-making. The Raptors continued to struggle from all over the floor, and a 15-0 Cleveland run flipped the script from all five earlier games, Toronto faltering as the game went on rather than slowly finding a groove and playing better later. Scoring just two points over nearly eight minutes is just a tough way to hang in a game, you know? Boucher would finally break the 1-of-15 slump by finishing a lob from Marquis Teague, but the damage was done – the quarter ended 21-4, the Cavs taking a commanding 15-point lead into the fourth. Things continued going off the rails, as the Raptors went two minutes without scoring atop this quarter, including quite a Preston block. McKinnie broke the slump with free throws, and then Nick Nurse called for a full-court press, leading to an easy bucket underneath off of a turnover. Potts promptly added a triple and then a mid-range jumper, and while that helped Toronto get close to back within single-digits, Potts felt it a bit too much and missed his next two jumpers off the bounce. The pressure continued to pay dividends, Potts hit another three, and a nice inbound play got McKinnie free throws in the post to keep staying around the 11-point mark. Time was not in their side as the clock ticked below four minutes, and a beautiful Sexton scoop-and-one put Cleveland back ahead 15 and effectively ended things. Boucher still had the chance to wrap up his strong tournament with another foul drawn on offense and then a charge drawn the other way to cut it to 10, and he’d then foul out (elimination games have a cap of six, not 10), letting Cleveland take it home with an 82-68 final. This caps an up-and-down Summer League for the Raptors, one that saw them start out poorly with three shaky showings with moderately improving process and then begin to put things together over the last three. On Sunday, it was a matter of an unspeakably bad offensive quarter outweighing any positives and, with four players sitting out, perhaps some fatigue setting in. Overall, it wasn’t quite the performance the Raptors have turned in with loaded rosters in recent years, but there was enough forward progress and strong individual play to come away feeling good about the Vegas fortnight. And it’s the last basketball we’ll get until Canada qualifiers in September, so I hope you soaked it in. Notes<doc-sep>In the playoffs the last three seasons, the Cavs have owned the Raptors. Summer league play is no different. On Sunday in Las Vegas, Cleveland beat Toronto 82-68 in a quarterfinal matchup. LEading the way for the Cavs was two-way player John Holland, who scored on a game-high 23 points on 8-12 shooting. Holland was also 4-7 on three-pointers. Collin Sexton added 18 points and six assists. The Cavs’ other two-way player, Billy Preston, added 10 points, nine rebounds and one block. Okaro White finished with a game-high 10 rebounds. Cleveland’s decisive quarter was the third quarter, when Toronto was held to 2-19 hooting and four points. In the same quarter, the Cavs scored 21 points and the Raptors never got within nine points the ret of the way. Overall, the Raptors shot 30.9 percent from the field. The Cavs were again without Ante Zizic and Cedi Osman against the Raptors. Zizic returned home to Croatia for Sunday’s World Cup final, while Osman is likely being rested after he started off his summer playing with the Turkish National Team. Cleveland will next play the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday at 8:30 p.m in the semifinals. No word on if LeBron James, who watched his new Lakers squad play on Sunday, will be in attendance.<doc-sep>
If you can believe it, the Raptors are still playing in the NBA Summer League. Let that fact just settle in. Toronto went winless in the opening round, playing poorly throughout, and yet they now stand with a chance to win the whole tournament. Today, the Cleveland Cavaliers stand in the way — for a change. There’s no word yet what the status is for OG Anunoby today, or for the Cavaliers’ Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic. All three didn’t play in their teams’ previous games, but now, two days from the end and with the title in reach, maybe they’ll all get back on the court. In lieu of that, look for the Cavaliers to find a lot of time for recent draft pick Collin Sexton. As for the Raptors, it’s anyone’s guess at this point — though the betting line is moving hard towards another big performance from Rawle Alkins. In any case, we may as well prepare. Below are your game details, with a few things to watch in advance of the continuation of the Raptors’ miracle run. Where to Watch: NBA League Pass, 6:00pm EST Lineups: Toronto — Rawle Alkins, Malachi Richardson, Codi Miller-McIntyre, Alfonzo McKinnie, Shevon Thompson Cleveland — Collin Sexton, John Holland, Marcus Lee, Jamel Artis, Okaro White Injuries: Toronto — Malcolm Miller (shoulder), Fuquan Edwin (knee), OG Anunoby (rest), Jordan Loyd (day-to-day) Jordan Loyd (back spasms) will not return. Loyd had seven points in 10 minutes in the first half. #Wethenorh — RaptorsMR (@RaptorsMR) July 14, 2018 Cleveland — Cedi Osman (rest), Ante Zizic (rest) ******** Next Man Up OK, so OG Anunoby maybe isn’t playing, and that means another Toronto player could be the guy. Maybe Alkins will continue his run atop the Raptors pecking order, or maybe he won’t. Summer League is random like that, which can be fun if you’re fixing for some NBA-adjace action, well on into July. I didn’t think the Raptors would be here, but... we are here. So then, who’s pulling the weight? Alkins was a human dynamo yesterday, dropping 25 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing two assists. For good measure he shot 63 percent from the field, and 71 percent from three. Related: Alkins is looking to book himself a guaranteed NBA job. The Raptors have also benefited from the shooting of Malachi Richardson as of late. He had 14 points yesterday, with a stout 50 percent from 3 outing. As one of the more pedigreed players on the team, this is good to see. Me personally, I’d keep an eye on Giddy Potts. He’s a bit more on the bubble right now, but after 10 points yesterday, you can bet he’ll try for something again tonight. How Are They Doing This? Put all of the above together and what do we get: the Raptors shot 43 percent from the field yesterday, and a solid 44 percent from three (which is a clear difference maker). They had 18 turnovers, which didn’t help, and the rebounding battle was pretty even — but maybe it really was just a matter of changing up the lineups. Toronto sat Tryggvi Hlinason, Augusto Lima, Andrew Rowsey, along with Anunoby for the previous game (and they are without Miller, who’s contract offer has been withdrawn; it’s a cold world) for the previous game. As a result, the team relied more on Chris Boucher, along with Alkins and Potts, and even Marquis Teague, the most experienced NBA-er on the roster, was able to help out. I don’t want to say this has been the different for Toronto, but it’ll be interesting to see if their title run continues with this group of players. Miracle Run As my guy Jacob revealed the other day, I’m not necessarily engaged with the Raptors’ streak in this tournament. I’m writing this with the World Cup final on a TV in ferry station in Prince Rupert, BC. We’re on our way to Haida Gwaii, and somehow the Raptors are still working away in Vegas. Props to them. We’ll have Jacob do the recap for tonight’s game — so keep an eye open. And then, yes, let’s all continue on with our vacation, including the Raptors.