Winners and Losers From Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Playoffs Game 1

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.