NBA Matchups: April 18

TOR @ CLE | MIN @ DEN | ATL @ NYK | HOU @ LAL

Toronto Raptors at Cleveland Cavaliers

Team Totals:

Injury Report:

Raptors projected starters: Scottie Barnes, R.J. Barrett, Ja’Kobe Walter, Brandon Ingram, Jakob Poeltl (Note: I don’t think Immanuel Quickley is playing.)

Cavs projected starters: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Offensive Ranks: Raptors 13th (10th halfcourt), Cavs eighth (sixth halfcourt)

Defensive Ranks: Raptors 7th (11th halfcourt), Cavs 15th (15th halfcourt)

Season Series: 3-0 Raptors

Noteworthy Missed Games: R.J. Barrett (1 missed), Jakob Poeltl (1), Donovan Mitchell (1), Max Strus (3), Jarrett Allen (2), James Harden (3; Garland missed all three, too)

Darko quotes: Said they didn’t really care about seeding, said the best part of their growth this season is that they are in the playoffs, said IQ needed an MRI, said Barnes is “slowly but surely growing into an all-around player,” said the Miami games earlier this month were helpful experiences for the playoffs, said they learned a lot about protecting home court.

Atkinson quotes: Said he liked their process all year, said they had a steal with getting Tyrese Proctor, said Proctor’s body catching up could make him a special player, said all their different starting lineups will be helpful for them in the postseason, said they don’t want to overdo it on the prep for the Raptors.

Team stats and notes:

*The Raptors crushed the Cavs this year, which is more of a testament to the inconsistency of the Cavs from earlier this year. These teams haven’t played since Nov. 24, and that was back when Evan Mobley couldn’t get his game on track. The Cavs have been clicking on offense since the break with a top-five unit, and they’ve been able to get some interior scoring going. The Raptors are an elite transition defense, but the Cavs have just been average with their transition offense. The Raptors have also been taking away C&S stuff since the break, which is a flip from where they were earlier this year. It wouldn’t be a big surprise to see the Raps flip back to being a two-on-the-ball defense here. Defensively, the big thing that works in Cleveland’s favor is that they’ve been 11th in defensive rebounding rate since the break. The James Harden lineups have been excellent on the boards, and many of them didn’t have Jarrett Allen.

Player stats and notes:

*Scottie Barnes didn’t have great numbers in this matchup with just a 20/10/6 line over 36 MPG, and he is going to see a ton of Evan Mobley. Barnes’ role is going to be heavily tied to the availability of Immanuel Quickley in this series, and either way, IQ is likely going to be limited because of his foot and hammy issues (same leg). When IQ was out, Barnes ripped off double-digit dimes in six games and put up a triple-double in the finale against the Nets. The Cavs have also been able to rebound better since the break, and their paint defense should keep Scottie from piling up interior scoring. If IQ is out, it might be more of an assist spot for Barnes.

*Brandon Ingram should be in an OK spot here. He’s really the only volume scorer on the team who can get his without piling up transition and paint scoring. He will see a good bit of Dean Wade in this spot, but BI should play the majority of his minutes away from Wade anyway. BI led the team in scoring against the Cavs at 22.7 PPG over 36 minutes per outing. A lot of the usage should really funnel to BI in the halfcourt.

*R.J. Barrett’s matchup is a little tricky. He should get a favorable 1-on-1 matchup against Donovan Mitchell, but the macro stuff will work against him. The Cavs should be a solid transition defense with so much of their personnel out there, and the playoffs tend to have lower transition output. He did not have success in this matchup at just 14.5 PPG over 31.6 minutes per game. Maybe the 1-on-1 matchups lead to more R.J. usage, but he’s the worst of the main scorers (assuming no IQ).

*It feels like a bad spot for Jakob Poeltl. The Cavs have been rebounding the ball much better lately, which is what Poeltl will need to smash. Still, maybe this was all just noise on the Cavs rebounding better, and it’s not like Jarrett Allen is going to play much. I don’t think I’d play props, but he has enough ceiling for DFS. Collin Murray-Boyles could also be a really good play if the Raps wanted to lean more into a switch scheme against the PNR attack from the Cavs.