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00:00You want to read a first-round playoff series preview, by all means, go to Cleveland.com.
00:06Chris has one out right now, and it's fabulous.
00:09Very extensive, very good, very Fedor.
00:12Welcome to the show, sir.
00:15Congratulations.
00:16What an intro.
00:16You're an adjective now.
00:17I don't know if I deserved all that, but thank you very much.
00:19I appreciate that.
00:20No, it's good stuff.
00:22Cavs and Raptors.
00:23This is not a number one seed taking on a winner of the play-in tournament game.
00:28This is a 4-5.
00:30How dangerous is that?
00:33It's certainly more dangerous than it was last year against Miami, but I do think that there
00:38are some things that the Cavs have that are advantageous.
00:43Look, Toronto is a team that they do some of the things that bother the Cavs or have bothered
00:49the Cavs throughout the course of the regular season.
00:51I'm just not sure they do them enough for it to actually matter throughout the course of
00:56a seven-game series.
00:57There's also something that's looming for the Raptors right now, and it's the health
01:02of Emmanuel quickly.
01:04Their starting point guard has been dealing with plantar fasciitis, and now all of a sudden
01:08in the final game of the regular season, he had a hamstring strain.
01:13And there's a lot of uncertainty about whether he's going to be available Saturday, how effective
01:18he's going to be, if he can play through this particular injury.
01:22Obviously, when you're playing against a team that has the personnel advantage, the talent
01:26advantage, the way that the Cavs do, and you're a team like Toronto, you can't afford to be
01:31missing one of your starters, one of your most reliable players, and the only guy on your
01:36roster that has made more than 150 three-pointers, which is a point of emphasis for the Cavs
01:42going into the series against Toronto, given the struggles that the Cavs have had defending
01:47the three-point line.
01:48So I do think that this is something that's probably going to be more competitive.
01:53I don't think you're going to see the most lopsided series in NBA history the way that
01:57we did last year between the Cavs and the Heat.
02:00But I just don't think the Raptors, over the course of a seven-game series, are going
02:05to find enough answers against this version of the Cavs.
02:09All right, let's just make sure we can pretty much erase the three games they played against
02:12each other during the regular season, right?
02:13There's no reason to even think about that.
02:16Seven months ago?
02:18Yeah.
02:18Something like that.
02:20When Larry Nance Jr. was in the starting lineup, when Lonzo Ball was in the starting lineup,
02:24DeAndre Hunter was in the starting lineup, one of those games, Luke Travers played 15 minutes,
02:29Chris Livingston, who played 14 minutes, Tyrese Proctor got meaningful playing time.
02:35So, yes, you can throw those out the window.
02:38Andy took care of that one.
02:40I just want to make sure.
02:41I needed to hear it from you because I was like, there was a point about six weeks ago
02:45that I was a little bit nervous about this series.
02:47And, you know, knowing that the new core four has played a full seven games and feel much
02:54healthier than they have since going, I feel much better.
02:57Are we concerned about the fact they've only played seven games?
02:59What, 94 minutes together?
03:0292.
03:03I'm sorry.
03:04How can I screw that up?
03:06It's actually 92.3 minutes together.
03:08I'm sorry.
03:10You gave them a little bit too many minutes.
03:12I'm sorry.
03:13I didn't realize.
03:14Oh, man, they're going to be too confident now.
03:17Is there concern?
03:18Yes.
03:19I think there's a level of concern about the lack of rhythm that the Cavs are in.
03:25They're not going into the playoffs like the Oklahoma City Thunder that have won basically
03:28every meaningful game that they tried to win down the stretch.
03:31They're not going into the playoffs like the Denver Nuggets that turned it on and peaked
03:37at the right time.
03:38There are still some things that the Cavs are trying to figure out about themselves.
03:43Combinations.
03:44Lineups.
03:44Who's going to be the fifth starter?
03:46Who's going to be the closing group for Kenny Atkinson?
03:50Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, late game situations.
03:53How does that relationship play itself out?
03:56Is Jared Allen going to be on the floor to finish games?
03:59Are they going to go with one big and just Evan Mobley?
04:02Or is it one big and just Jared Allen?
04:04And I find that hard to believe, but there are just certain things that the Cavs are still
04:09trying to figure out about themselves that some of these other championship contending
04:13teams are not.
04:14Detroit has more answers about who they are because they've been together longer and they've
04:19had more of a runway to figure those things out.
04:23Denver has more answers about who they are.
04:25Oklahoma City, same thing.
04:26Boston, same thing.
04:27There's a reason why very few teams that make a drastic roster shakeup at the midseason
04:33trade deadline go on to win the NBA championship because it's just, it's too quick of a process
04:40to get all of those things answered and all of those things figured out.
04:45Now, does that mean that the Cavs can't go on to get to the conference finals?
04:50Does that mean that the Cavs can't advance to the NBA finals?
04:53No, it just means there are things that are a little bit more difficult because of the
04:58circumstances for them than some of these other teams that are probably further along
05:04in the understanding of who they are, the habits that they've built, the answers that
05:08they have about themselves, the sets that they want to go to in late game situations.
05:14All that kind of stuff is working against the Cavs.
05:17But I'll say this, in the 92 minutes, very small sample size, that the new four, the formidable
05:23four, whatever you want to call this group now, in the 92 minutes that they were on the
05:28floor, they just obliterated opponents at both ends.
05:32So you can see the idea and you can see the ceiling of this team for sure.
05:39Chris Fedor joining us from the PlainDealerCleven.com.
05:42If I'm the Raptors and I think, how can we knock off the Cavaliers?
05:47Is there any better way, any other way, than having their wing guys, Brandon Ingram, Scotty
05:55Barnes, R.J. Barrett, dominate this series?
05:58I think if the Cavs can control those guys, they have this series, Chris.
06:02Is that the best hope for Toronto?
06:06Probably, yeah.
06:07I think it's try to take the Cavs out of their rhythm offensively.
06:12Because the Cavs have legitimate questions about who they can be defensively and what
06:17kind of level they can get to defensively.
06:20They were middle of the pack defensively before the trade deadline.
06:24They were middle of the pack defensively after the trade deadline.
06:27They have been a middle of the pack defense.
06:31History tells you that that's not good enough, right?
06:36But with Evan Mobley, with Jared Allen, two of the elite rim protectors protecting the paint,
06:41things along those lines, do they have a different level that they can get to defensively?
06:46Do they have a proverbial switch that they can flip to get to defensively?
06:51I think that has to play itself out.
06:53And that's a wait and see type thing.
06:55I don't think I can definitively say yes or definitively say no.
06:59But because the Cavs aren't a defense first team, because they haven't proven to be that,
07:06this is an offensive minded team.
07:08So, can you take this offense out of its comfort zone?
07:12Can you get them out of rhythm?
07:14Can you force them into more difficult shots?
07:19Can you limit the number of threes that they make over the course of this series?
07:24Yeah, I do think, you know, Scotty Barnes has the makeup.
07:27R.J. Barrett has the makeup.
07:29Brandon Ingram theoretically has the makeup.
07:32To make things a little bit more difficult on this Cavs offense.
07:36The other thing about Toronto is that they're handsy.
07:39They're physical.
07:40They force a lot of turnovers.
07:42They want to run.
07:44So, if you can get the Cavs to make some mistakes,
07:48if you can get James Harden to be a little bit more careless,
07:51Donovan Mitchell, same thing.
07:52All of a sudden, that fuels your offense.
07:55That gets you out in transition.
07:57That gets you some easier baskets.
08:01But I do think that there is a dirty little secret about Toronto
08:04that not enough people are talking about guys.
08:07They cannot beat good teams.
08:09They have not beaten good teams.
08:12Against the top ten teams in the NBA,
08:15the six best from the West and the four best from the East,
08:18just in terms of record, not net rating or anything like that.
08:22In terms of the ten best records in the NBA,
08:25Toronto went 5-22 against those caliber teams.
08:30And by the way, three of those wins came against the Skeleton Cavs.
08:33So, we're talking about two wins
08:35against legitimate championship contending teams for the Raptors.
08:40It's like they've had a good year.
08:42They've gotten to the fifth seed.
08:44They've done some good things.
08:45But a majority of their wins have come against
08:49some of the worst teams in the NBA.
08:51So, there's a legitimate question about
08:53whether that group is ready for this kind of talent gap
08:59that they're going to have to overcome.
09:00Whether that group is ready for this kind of team,
09:05this caliber opponent,
09:07one that they haven't shown that they can consistently compete against.
09:11All right, let's cut to the chase.
09:12How many games is it going to take for the Cavs to knock them out?
09:14So, wow.
09:16I think five.
09:17Five.
09:18I think five, honestly.
09:20Look, there are things that the Raptors do
09:23that are bothersome or can be bothersome to the Cavs.
09:26I just don't know that there are enough of them.
09:28And I think the one thing where the Cavs are vulnerable,
09:32especially on the defensive end of the floor,
09:34the Raptors don't do that well enough.
09:37And it's the three-point shooting.
09:40So, stylistically, if you're a team that's going to take advantage
09:44of some of the weak points of the Cavs' defense,
09:47you've got to take and make a lot of shots.
09:49You probably have to be able to score 115 to 120 consistently.
09:54And I just don't know, as handsy as they are,
09:58as physical as they are, as pesky as they are,
10:01as defensive-minded as they are,
10:03I just don't know that the Raptors in this current state
10:06are capable of that in a playoff environment
10:09when the game slows down,
10:10when the Cavs are going to be sagging off
10:12some of their non-shooters,
10:14when the Cavs are going to be able
10:17to maybe play with a little bit more intensity,
10:20a little bit more focus,
10:21a little bit more attention to detail
10:23when it comes to transition defense
10:24and all that kind of stuff.
10:26There is no team in this year's playoffs,
10:31except for Detroit,
10:32that has been as bad
10:33from a three-point shooting perspective as Toronto.
10:37And if you're going to beat the Cavs,
10:38that's what you have to do
10:40because this defense for the Cavs
10:42is designed to overhelp.
10:44This defense for the Cavs is designed
10:45to protect the paint, protect the rim,
10:48pack it in, and they kind of welcome
10:50or they just have a defensive strategy
10:52that lends itself to more three-point shots.
10:55And I just don't think over the course
10:57of this seven-game series
10:58that the Raptors are going to be able
11:00to generate enough quality offense
11:03to be able to hang with
11:05what the Cavs are capable of
11:07at that end of the floor.
11:08Chris Fedor joining us
11:09from the Plain Dealer, Cleveland.com.
11:11You can follow him on X,
11:12at Chris Fedor.
11:13It's F-E-D-O-R.
11:15If things don't go well in the postseason,
11:20you've got to figure there are changes
11:21in some way, shape, or form.
11:22What do you think those would be
11:24and how extensive would they be?
11:26It doesn't feel like this team
11:28is in need of gutting or a rebuild
11:30or anything else,
11:31but it's the NBA
11:34and things change quickly.
11:37How do you define don't go well?
11:40I think that's important.
11:41Don't get out of the second round.
11:45If they don't get out of the second round?
11:47Yeah.
11:48Oh, it's DEFCON 1.
11:51Wow.
11:51It is.
11:52I mean, think about it.
11:53This is a team that,
11:56for all of the things
11:57that they've accomplished
11:57during the regular season,
11:59it would be another earlier-than-expected
12:02flame-out in the playoffs.
12:03And I just don't think a lot of people
12:05in this organization
12:06are going to be able to survive that
12:09for a variety of reasons.
12:10Look, they came into this year
12:13and President of Basketball Operations,
12:15Kobe Altman,
12:16said all the right things
12:18about being patient,
12:19about keeping the core four together,
12:22about, hey,
12:23Boston had to go through
12:24their lumps in the playoffs
12:26and the Denver Nuggets
12:27had to go through
12:27their lumps in the playoffs
12:28and the Oklahoma City Thunder
12:30had to go through
12:31their lumps in the playoffs.
12:32They were better because of it.
12:33They learned from it
12:34and all that kind of stuff.
12:36So we have to be patient.
12:37We have a good team,
12:38but we have to be patient
12:40and we have to figure it out.
12:41We have to figure out
12:42the 16-game season.
12:44We've got the 82-game season.
12:45We've got to figure out
12:47the 16-game season.
12:48And they came into this year
12:49and they had lofty expectations
12:51and they kept the core four together.
12:54And then as the season was going on,
12:57everybody inside the organization
12:59looked at it and said,
12:59it's not happening.
13:01We're not good enough.
13:02We're not ready.
13:05We need to find other pieces
13:07that are going to help us
13:09get to that championship level
13:11because it's just not going to happen.
13:13The level of belief
13:14inside that locker room
13:15was lacking.
13:16They were saying
13:17all the right things,
13:18but they weren't actually
13:19believing the things
13:20that they were saying.
13:22So they made the trade
13:23at the deadline
13:24and they shortened
13:26their championship runway.
13:27They narrowed
13:28their championship window
13:29and they brought in
13:31a more mature,
13:32a more ready James Harden,
13:34but they gave up,
13:35what,
13:35seven to ten years
13:36of Darius Garland
13:38in his prime,
13:39the upside
13:40that Darius has
13:41that James doesn't.
13:42That was a drastic move
13:44for this organization.
13:45That was a significant move
13:48in terms of them saying,
13:50we're not good enough.
13:51We need something else
13:53that isn't already
13:54on this roster.
13:55It wasn't an all-in move,
13:58but it was close
13:59to an all-in move.
14:00So if that doesn't yield
14:02a result that's better
14:03than what they've had recently,
14:07what do you do it for?
14:09I mean,
14:10what's the benefit of it?
14:12So you've got that
14:14and then you also talk
14:15about a team
14:16that's paying more than
14:17$60 million
14:18in the luxury tax.
14:19You've got the highest
14:21priced roster
14:21in the NBA.
14:23One of the highest
14:24priced rosters
14:25in NBA history.
14:28So if they don't
14:30get out of the second round,
14:31considering the path
14:34that they would have
14:34to travel,
14:35that's the other element
14:36of all of this.
14:39for all of the problems
14:41that the Toronto Raptors
14:42could theoretically cause,
14:44I think people
14:45inside the organization
14:46were happy about
14:48the result of Sunday.
14:50We don't have to deal
14:52with Atlanta.
14:53Now,
14:54I don't think anybody
14:55was sitting there
14:55saying to themselves,
14:57okay,
14:57like we're going to lose
14:58to Atlanta
14:59in round one,
15:00but if you're looking
15:02at the potential path
15:03that they have to travel
15:04to get to the NBA final,
15:06it's as favorable
15:08as they're going to get.
15:09It is.
15:10Because I think
15:11there are two teams
15:12that you could look at
15:13and you could say,
15:13all right,
15:14they maybe can beat
15:16the Cavs
15:16in a seven-game series.
15:18And those two teams
15:19are New York
15:20and they're Boston.
15:22The Cavs only have
15:22to face one of them.
15:24The way that
15:24everything sets up,
15:26the Cavs only have
15:27to face one of them
15:28to get to the NBA finals.
15:30And they don't have
15:30to face that team
15:31until they get
15:32to the conference finals.
15:33You combine
15:34everything together
15:36and you've got
15:37all of this pressure,
15:38all of these expectations.
15:40And if they can't get
15:42to the conference finals,
15:44then changes
15:44are going to be
15:46significant
15:46in this organization.
15:47So let me just
15:48think about this
15:49big picture,
15:50okay?
15:50Right?
15:50And I know
15:51what happened
15:51to David Blatt.
15:52We only got about
15:52a minute here, too.
15:53So, I mean,
15:55Kenny's 116-48
15:57and we talked about
15:58at the beginning
15:58of this interview,
15:59he's had, what,
16:00seven games
16:01with his starters.
16:02Should he really,
16:03unless it's a major
16:04coaching flaw here
16:05that happens,
16:06should he really
16:07be on the hot seat?
16:10Or is it something
16:11we always,
16:12we just expect this
16:13because it's Dan?
16:16Well, I think Dan
16:17is capable of
16:18a lot of different things.
16:20I think there's a lot
16:21of pressure
16:21on this organization
16:22when you're paying
16:23what he's paying
16:24for this roster.
16:26You expect results.
16:27You expect results
16:29at the highest level.
16:30And I'm not saying
16:32that Kenny would be
16:33the first domino
16:34to fall.
16:34I don't think
16:35that you can
16:36specifically point
16:37to one.
16:38I'm just saying
16:39that many,
16:40many things
16:41would be on the table.
16:43I think trading
16:43Evan Mobley
16:44would be on the table.
16:45Trading Donovan Mitchell,
16:47James Harden,
16:48Kenny Atkinson,
16:49maybe president
16:50of basketball operations,
16:52Kobe Altman.
16:52If you underachieve again,
16:55and that's what
16:55it would be viewed as,
16:56as underachievement.
16:57If you underachieve again,
16:59then you're looking
17:01at a bunch of different
17:02things within your
17:03organization to say,
17:04okay,
17:04what is it that is
17:05holding us back?
17:06What is it that is
17:08going to allow us
17:09to take the next step?
17:10And maybe possibly
17:11they determine
17:12that it is a coaching thing.
17:14Maybe possibly
17:15they determine
17:16that it is a roster thing.
17:18Maybe they determine
17:19that they need
17:20just a new voice
17:21or new leadership.
17:22Whatever the case may be.
17:24Underachievement
17:25leads to pressure.
17:26Underachievement
17:27oftentimes
17:28leads to change.
17:30The coverage
17:31will be phenomenal.
17:33It will be provided
17:33by Chris Fedor
17:34in The Plain Dealer
17:35and Cleveland.com.
17:36Go read his preview
17:37right now.
17:38It's exceptional.
17:39You can find it
17:39at Cleveland.com.
17:41Buddy, thank you very much.
17:42You got to guess
17:43anytime.
17:44Chris joining us
17:45on the Make It Right
17:46Call Kyle Wright hotline.
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