Kasler: Cavs make mess of weary Raptors

The Cavaliers blitzed the Raptors in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Tuesday night. The final was 115-84 and was the most recent victory of a 9-0 start to the postseason.

Some thoughts:

1. I don’t know what adjustments the Raptors can make headed into Game 2. They can hope Kyle Lowry plays better, I suppose. But that alone won’t close the gap enough.

2. One adjustment they can and should try is keeping LeBron James out of the paint. James was 11-of-13 from the field, with almost all of his makes coming at the rim. The obvious problem with doubling James is he is surrounded by sharpshooters waiting to break long distance records.

3. The Cavs only made seven 3-point shots Tuesday, but that was simply the result of excellent offensive execution -- they shot better than 55 percent from the field for the entire game.

4. So, no, I haven't a clue what the Raptors might do to turn the tide Thursday night. Maybe Dwane Casey was getting a head start on the game plan when he called timeout with about 1:50 remaining and the Raptors trailing by 33 points? So trivial, but what was the point of a timeout at that juncture?

5. Put simply, the Cavs did everything right. James and Kyrie Irving only played a combined 58 minutes but were 22-of-30 from the field for 51 points. They were just unstoppable.

6. The Cavs bench was superb as well, scoring 39 points distributed rather evenly. Richard Jefferson and Matthew Dellavedova led with nine apiece and Channing Frye and Iman Shumpert each chipped in eight.

7. I wondered if the Cavs would come out rusty after such a long layoff. This isn't a novel concern but plausible nonetheless. Whatever rust had accrued on the Cavs finely tuned machine was knocked off when Toronto shot out to a 7-0 lead. The Cavs gained their footing at that point and simply never looked back.

8. I don’t know for sure if the stats support this next assertion, but it seems like the Raptors love mid-range jump shots. I hadn’t realized how odd it is to watch a team shoot a slew of 15 to 19 foot jumpers until I watched Toronto for a full 48 minutes.

9. The other thought I had about the Raps is how frequently their offensive sets seem to begin with less than 10 seconds remaining on the shot clock. And to call them “sets” is a stretch, frankly, as many of their possessions end with DeMar DeRozan trying to create for himself or Lowry looking for a ball screen 25 feet from the bucket.

10. The best example of the Raptors' offensive struggles came late in the second quarter when I swear Lowry tried to post up a double team. That is to say, there were two guys defending him, and yet he persisted with trying to back both of them down onto the block. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that. It didn’t end well for Lowry, hard as that may be to believe.

11. I’ll sound like a homer with this next point, but whatever -- LeBron was called for a moving screen in the first half that honestly resembled just about every screen I have seen Draymond Green set. Just sayin’.

12. Frye was fantastic in the previous series against the Hawks, and he was impactful Tuesday as a scorer. But in the first half, he also found Dellavedova on a beautiful backdoor cut that showcased another element of Frye’s well-rounded game that really is deeper than just a long-range bomber.

13. The game turned a bit sloppy and physical in the second half, which isn’t all that surprising in a blowout. Kevin Love was called for a flagrant foul when he pivoted and caught his defender with an inadvertent elbow to the jaw. A few minutes later, DeMarre Carroll mugged James on a fastbreak and received only a common foul.

14. What’s clear to me is that intent matters less than point of contact when officials are determining flagrant or common fouls. Love had no intent but made contact with the face, so he received a flagrant. Carroll had every intent to physically mug James, but didn’t connect above the neck, so he gets a common foul. I guess.

15. JR Smith was a quiet 1-5 from the field and 0-3 from long range. What happens if he gets hot in Game 2?

16. A final thought – the entire fourth quarter was garbage time and featured a relentless whistle from an officiating crew that just couldn’t help but set fire to what was a rather well-officiated game through three quarters. It wouldn’t be the NBA without the officials pulling their clown suits out of the carnival car and casting absurdity over a game.

17. The Cavs and Raps are back at it again Thursday, and I have a difficult time conjuring up a scenario where this series goes to one game apiece.

Follow Jeff Kasler on Twitter @JKaslerHoops.