TORONTO: LeBron James spinning the ball twice before draining a 3-pointer in Serge Ibaka’s face in the second quarter of Game 2.
James picking up a server’s beer and pretending to take a sip when momentum carried him out of bounds in Game 1.
A question from a Cleveland-area media member about the Raptors being dominated after the defending champion Cavaliers’ 22-point victory Wednesday.
Raptors coach Dwane Casey hoped all that would inspire his team going into Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Friday night at Air Canada Centre. He was looking for more physical play, something resembling the other East semifinal between the Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards.
“You’re going into a 15-round [fight],” Casey said before Game 3. “You work all year to go against the champ in a boxing match. You train, you hit the heavy bag, you bounce out and you come out and you go to the rope-a-dope for 15 rounds instead of throwing a punch. To beat the champs, you got to throw punches. Whether they’re haymakers, undercuts or whatever. Maybe a couple below the belt.
“But you got to box, you got to fight, you got to compete. And, again, I think that’s something, I think we’ve done it in spurts, but not enough. Against a team like Cleveland, you can’t turn it on and turn it off. You’ve got to have consistent focus and consistent toughness.”
Casey didn’t have a problem with James spinning the ball on Ibaka Wednesday. James told ESPN Friday morning that the ball roll was “bait.”
“If [Ibaka] would have reached in, I would have put it on the floor,” James told ESPN. “It was a mental thing. Everything I do is mental.”
In pregame, Casey said, “I don’t blame LeBron because a lot of guys will do it, kind of get in a rhythm or whatever, stick the ball out there and see if you’ll reach for it and bait you into it. I have no problem with that at all.”
But he did not like what the moment said about the Raptors defense.
“That tells me one thing — you’re not into him close enough. That’s the challenge I would take. All the other antics and all those other things, you have an opportunity for 48 minutes to do something about it,” Casey said. “You can do something about it legally, cleanly, it doesn’t have to be flagrant. It’s not hockey, you can’t take your gloves off and go at it until you fall and hit the ice. You can physically get into the guy, make him feel you, and that’s what I don’t think we’ve done.
“He’s way too comfortable moving around, freedom of movement, passing, shooting. Again, I’m not saying our guys for the whole game didn’t do that, but too many times they felt comfortable.”
Casey also didn’t like the perception that the Raptors were dominated in Game 2, but he hopes it also affects his team.
“I hope so, in a smart way. I don’t want to get anybody thrown out or suspended or anything like that. But, yeah, you should be teed off or upset when somebody’s using the word ‘dominated,’ ” Casey said.
“That should get your hair up on your neck a little bit. The word ‘dominant,’ that play [with James spinning the ball], coming off and having a beer on the sideline, all those things should get you upset to make it a physical contest.”
Raptors All-Star guard Kyle Lowry wouldn’t say he felt disrespected by James’ spinning the ball, but he clearly was angry that James finished Game 2 with 39 points, six rebounds and four assists in 36½ minutes.
“I was pretty upset. Not that he did it — he should spin the ball, he’s comfortable, we can’t let him be comfortable,” Lowry said after shootaround. “We have to make him uncomfortable. If I was comfortable I would do the same thing.”
James explained what happened on the play before the Cavs shootaround.
“I was just basically in my zone, in my comfort zone and after I spun the ball and I jabbed him, I seen what I needed to see from the defender to be able to get that shot off,” James said. “If I didn’t see it, I would have drove it and if I didn’t have the drive, I would have gave it up and let one of my teammates attack.”
Joseph for Lowry
Lowry did not start, but was going to try to play after spraining his right ankle in the third quarter of Game 2. Cory Joseph started in his place.
Lowry worked out about 4 p.m. before heading to the training room for more treatment, Casey said.
Lowry said Friday morning the ankle was not swollen, as is the norm for him, but that he was concerned about running, making cuts and playing defense, about the “sudden reactions” required.
Lowry was hurt when teammate Norman Powell fell on him after Powell was pushed down by the Cavs’ Tristan Thompson 27 seconds into the second half of Game 2. Lowry returned in the third quarter, but spent the last 12 minutes in the locker room icing the ankle.
“It’s still pretty sore, but I’ll see how I feel tonight,” Lowry said after shootaround, which he skipped. “The outside ankle I’ve done that plenty of times. This one, I don’t think I’ve ever done it inwards like that.”
Asked if it was the more debilitating high ankle sprain, Lowry said, “It’s a little bit, but it’s not that high. It’s not bad like that, if it was a high ankle sprain I probably wouldn’t be playing.”
Through eight playoff games, Lowry is averaging 15.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists. Lowry scored 20 points in each of the first two games against the Cavs, along with 16 total assists. He’s hit 14-of-25 from the field, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
“The doctors will have something to say about it,” Casey said. “Mostly it’s the player; the player knows his pain tolerance. If there’s no possibility of further injury, I’m sure that he’ll try to go.”
Asked how disappointing the injury was, Lowry said, “It sucks. I want to be out there 100 percent with my teammates, playing and trying to win games, protecting home court. The goal is just to play, [and] I have to wait.”
Casey said the Raptors would be a different team without Lowry.
“A lot. A lot. He and DeMar both are our hubs, the keys to our team,” Casey said. “The way they go is the way we go. I have all the confidence in the world in Cory Joseph. Cory had a big game the other night, very capable. Of all the players on our team, he’s won a championship. He knows how hard it is to win a championship.”
Hawks eyeing Griffin
ESPN’s Marc Stein reported that Cavaliers general manager David Griffin and Joe Dumars are expected to emerge as candidates for the Atlanta Hawks’ top basketball executive job.
Stein pointed out former Pistons guard Dumars played with Hawks minority owner Grant Hill in Detroit, while Griffin was the Phoenix Suns senior vice president of basketball operations when Hill joined the Suns for the 2007-08 season.
On Friday, Mike Budenholzer resigned as Hawks president, although he will stay on as coach, and Wes Wilcox resigned as general manager to become an advisor.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported last week that the Orlando Magic plan to offer Griffin the position as director of basketball operations after the Cavs complete their playoff run.
Griffin is working without a contract for next season and could get a substantial raise from another team.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.