One Player From Toronto Raptors Is Becoming a Major Issue for the Cleveland Cavaliers

The Toronto Rapots have discovered an X-Factor in the series vs the Cleveland Cavaliers.

His name is Collin Murray-Boyles, and he has made things very difficult for the Cavs in their Round 1 series.

In the four games so far this series, Murray-Boyles has averaged 25.5 minutes, scoring 17 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game. All of this while being 6-foot-7 and 245 pounds, going against two Cavs bigs, rivaling seven feet tall. How he is taking advantage of the Cavaliers has been a frustrating tale for Cavs fans as they watch him grab rebounds over much bigger, and honestly, better players than he is.

But I'd be willing to wager he is now a little higher up on the Cavs scouting report.

While the Cavaliers are trying to figure out how to stop Murray-Boyles from continuing to be a thorn in their side, the Raptors are likely getting far more than they expected from him in this series. During the regular season, he played in only 57 games, averaging 8.5 points per game and five rebounds.

In the postseason, his production has nearly doubled while also shooting a 10% higher field goal percentage. Yes, small sample size, but in a best-of-seven series, these numbers certainly matter.

How do the Cavaliers cancel CMB out the rest of the series?

Use. Your. Size.

As mentioned, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are much bigger, better, and more experienced players at this point in the playoffs. Do not let him continue to beat you on the boards and outrebound you. Yes his motor is leading the way for Toronto, but use that to your advantage. I

f Murray-Boyles is going to continue to try to beat you, then boxing him out is where this all begins. The other thing is to keep him out of the paint offensively. He's yet to hit a shot from beyond the perimeter this season. During the regular season, he shot 34% from three-point land but on less than one attempt a game. If the Cavs can pressure him and make him shoot shots he doesn't want to take then they will be able to remove him from the series.

It's Time for the Cavs to be the Grown Ups in the series

The Cavaliers are the better team; they're the far more experienced team, and while the Raptors may know their identity more than Cleveland due to the James Harden trade at the deadline, the Cavs' ceiling is much higher.

Toronto certainly does not fear the Cavs, and players like Collin Murray-Boyles have really made up for the Raptors' inability to continue to use Jakob Poetl, but how much more can the Raptors throw at the Cavaliers that they haven't already seen?

This is now a three-game series, and the Cavaliers know if they want to do what they are supposed to, they can't let CMB beat them.

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