A well-balanced effort and a huge second half from the Cleveland Cavaliers stars allowed them to dominate the Toronto Raptors 126-113 for the first playoff win of the year.

Here are the winners and losers of the first playoff game of the year for Cleveland.

Winners

Max Strus

Oh, did Max Strus miss over 65 games this year while dealing with injury he sustained in the offseason? You would have never noticed based on how he played in game one.

He was the difference maker off the bench in 24 minutes. He scored 24 points on 80% shooting. He was the clutch man at the end of the first half with four points in 30 seconds, then took over in the third by scoring eight straight.

Kenny Atkinson made a strong push to get Strus back in the rotation before playoffs and it’s showing why. He’ll be the X-factor all postseason long.

Cleveland’s starting bigs

The Cavaliers started the game looking to get Jarrett Allen touches inside the paint on the first four possessions of the game. He set the tone early by playing bully ball, throwing down a few hard dunks and showing Cleveland wanted to win the paint.

Allen cooled off but what he did early opened up the lanes for James Harden to drive in and create open shots on the perimeter. Then as Toronto tried to take that away, Evan Mobley took over in the paint.

Cleveland can win this series in the paint as the Raptors don’t have enough size to keep pace with this brand of basketball. Harden can unlock a new layer from bigs, it showed it the regular season and it’s showing now.

Mobley finished with 17 points and seven rebounds and Allen had 10 with seven boards.

The James Harden trade

Plenty of people doubted how effective Harden would be in the playoffs. He hasn’t had much success since he was a bench player for the Thunder.

This game was peak Harden. He got to be the playmaker instead of the scorer and it opened Cleveland’s offense up. As stated, the big got involved in a big way. The role players were able to find their shots.

He just freezes the game in a unique way. He knows when to throw a lob, when to pass out, when to shoot a floater and when to get creative.

Harden also helped Donovan Mitchell play an efficient game. Mitchell has always been able to score in the postseason, but often has had to sacrifice his efficiency. With Harden around Mitchell will know he is another star who can score when needed, but will focus on getting everyone else involved.

Harden finished with 22 points and 10 assists while Mitchell had 32 points. Meanwhile, the Clippers couldn’t make it out of the play-in and Los Angeles saw some of the frustration with Darius Garland’s inconsistency.

Losers

Jaylon Tyson 

Cleveland found a role for 10 guys in this first game which was something they weren’t expected to do in the playoffs. Many expected Dennis Schroder or Keon Ellis to be the odd man out of the rotation.

Instead Tyson looked like someone playing in his first career playoff game, which is exactly what he is. In just 13 minutes he had four fouls. He shot 0/4, only hitting a pair of free throws. He turned the ball over once and really got his defense exposed at times.

Tyson’s role in the rotation could be in serious jeopardy. Ellis and Shroder didn’t have great days either, but both helped keep the offense smooth and played solid enough defense. Tyson should have some more opportunities to prove himself, but the leash gets shorter in the postseason.

Toronto’s guards without Quickley

Without Immanuel Quickley out there, the Cavaliers had a clear mismatch to exploit in the backcourt. 

Now RJ Barrett and Jamal Shead still managed to put up some points, Barrett scored 24 and Shead scored 17, but neither got the offense going and neither could stop Mitchell and Harden on defense.

Barrett and Shead combined to dish out just five assists. Most of their passing had to come from the front court. That is a major weakness for Toronto right now.

Things got worse with Ja’Kobe Walter and AJ Lawson. Both guys struggled hard defensively and allowed Cleveland to bully with their stars.

If Quickley is out for the rest of the series, Cleveland will have plenty of chances to end this in four games.

The Orioles and Guardians play the second game of their four-game series on Friday, April 17.

Cleveland is a -143 moneyline favorite, while Baltimore is +119 on DraftKings Sportsbook. The game total is set at over/under eight runs.

Let’s get into a pick and prediction for this Orioles vs. Guardians game.

Orioles vs. Guardians prediction, preview

The Orioles had won six of seven games, seemingly finding their footing in the early portion of the season. Then, they lost two straight to the Diamondbacks, returning back to .500 heading into the weekend series. Baltimore hits the road for a four-game set against the Guardians, who have also struggled with consistency.

Cleveland is not much better, with mediocre batting and pitching. There are standout names on the roster such as Jose Ramirez, Steven Kwan and rookie Chase DeLauter, but they’re not carrying the offense enough.

The pitching is hit spotty, depending on who’s starting that day. Gavin Williams and Joey Cantillo are standouts thus far, but the rest of the rotation is unreliable. Neither of these pitchers are on the mound on Friday, putting the Guardians in danger of an offensive explosion.

Tanner Bibee is starting for the Guardians in game two of the series. He has a 6.38 ERA across four starts, pitching no further than 5.0 innings in an outing. Despite pitching the second fewest innings of the rotation, Bibee has by far the most hits allowed. Opposing teams are batting .316 against the right hander.

Despite this, the Orioles don’t have the pitching advantage. Chris Bassitt will toe the rubber for his fourth start of the season as he holds a 9.00 ERA across 11.0 innings. He hasn’t lasted more than 4.2 innings and has allowed at least six hits in each outing.

Between these two struggling pitchers, offenses may be on fire. That said, both teams have mediocre offense thus far.

Orioles vs. Guardians Pick, Best Bet

Neither of these pitchers gives me much confidence, and with that, it’s hard to bet on either team. A poor start puts a team in a hole sometimes impossible to climb out of. Rather than putting faith into either side, I’m betting against the pitching staffs.

All offense, all the time on Friday. Over. Over. Over.

Best Bet: Over eight runs (-110)