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Toronto Raptors Two-Man Game: Raptors vs. Cavaliers Series Preview

By Demar Grant

Dec 5, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) gestures toward the Cleveland Cavaliers bench during the first half at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Kyle Lowry (7) gestures toward the Cleveland Cavaliers bench during the first half at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /
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Toronto Raptors
Apr 20, 2017; Milwaukee, WI, USA; The Toronto Raptors watch the game in the closing minutes as the Raptors lost to the Milwaukeee Bucks 104-77 in game three of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /

How big of a role does the Raptors depth play into this series? Do you see any players that could make an unexpected impact?

Demar: Depth is a massive factor in this best of seven, not because I think the Raptors are going to be playing 12 players in a game but I think the utility offered on the bench is paramount. The Raptors had one of the best benches in the regular season, it was so good that one of it’s specific lineups generated it own nickname, The Jurrassic 5 (Kyle Lowry + the bench). P.J. Tucker, Patterson, Cory Joseph and Powell had their moments during the season, and the Bucks series, contributing to flexibility and defense.

The bench became a bastion for Raptors optimism within games and I think there is still untapped potential in it. Delon Wright is laying in wait for coach Dwane Casey’s signal and I think it may come in this series. Cleveland loves to run that LeBron + bench-shooters lineup and Wright fits the profile of a player that can defend and exploit that lineup with his defensive flexibility and ball handling.

Chris: If the Raptors are going to win this series their bench will need to have an impact in each of their wins. The Cavs tend to use LeBron with a bunch of shooters as their bench unit, meaning the Raptors’ bench squad will need to be stingy on defence.

I think one player who could see more minutes in this series is Delon Wright. Wright is long and mobile enough to switch on everything, which is paramount since the Cavs love to run high screen-and-rolls with LeBron, and he can handle the ball. I doubt we’ll see him play big minutes, but the eight to 10 minutes he contributes will be extremely important.

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