{"id":712006,"date":"2026-04-16T21:30:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T21:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/712006\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T21:30:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T21:30:35","slug":"raptors-must-play-hard-versus-cavaliers-forwards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/712006\/","title":{"rendered":"Raptors must play hard versus Cavaliers forwards"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2013 Being over six-foot-seven would be considered tall in most walks of life, but in the NBA, that makes you an undersized forward.<\/p>\n

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That will be Toronto Raptors\u2019 challenge in their first-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.<\/p>\n

Although seven-foot Jakob Poeltl, six-foot-nine Sandro Mamukelashvili and six-foot-seven Collin Murray-Boyles aren\u2019t short by anyone\u2019s definition, they\u2019ll be tangling with Cleveland\u2019s frontcourt of six-foot-nine Jarrett Allen and six-foot-11 Evan Mobley. Murray-Boyles, who has impressed at centre in his rookie season for Toronto, said he couldn\u2019t emulate the game of Mobley, last season\u2019s Defensive Player of the Year, even if he wanted to.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if I can study that. He\u2019s got a couple inches on me,\u201d joked Murray-Boyles on Thursday. \u201cI\u2019ve watched most of his film and he\u2019s just blocking shots and mucking it up in the paint.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Raptors had the NBA\u2019s fifth-best defensive rating in the regular season (113.25) which helped them earn the Eastern Conference\u2019s No. 5 seed. Smart defensive switches and the versatility of all-star swingman Scottie Barnes, helped them overcome taller opponents.<\/p>\n

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Making switches at an elite level will be needed against Mobley, Allen and guards Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey\u2019re a really, really good team and have a lot of good pieces,\u201d said Murray-Boyles. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a really good challenge for me and the team as a whole. The matchup is pretty good as we have Scott guarding their guards.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey have a really good backcourt, a really good frontcourt, really don\u2019t have many weaknesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleveland is almost the opposite of Toronto, with the sixth-best offensive rating (119.26) in the league which helped carry the team to No. 4 in the East. The Raptors beat Cleveland in all three of their regular-season matchups, but they all came before the Cavaliers traded for Harden, a surefire Hall of Famer who is averaging 23.6 points per game in 70 contests split between Cleveland and the Los Angeles Clippers.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe ended the season being the fifth-best defence in the league, and that\u2019s without having seven-foot something players protecting and changing shots at the rim,\u201d said Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic. \u201cEverything for our defence starts with how well we guard the ball and how well we stay in front of the ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just necessarily pressuring the full court and trying to make them commit turnovers. It\u2019s really making the heart of them being physical with them, slow them down. I think we\u2019ve got to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamukelashvili was one of only five reserves in the entire NBA that scored over 600 points and pulled down over 300 rebounds. He thinks it would be a mistake to get away from the tactics that helped Toronto qualify for the playoffs for the first time in four years.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf you make the playoffs and you switch up your whole routine, like, what got you through 82 games?\u201d he said after practice at Toronto\u2019s OVO Athletic Centre. \u201cThere were some tough games, must-win games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like now the only thing you have to do is monitor sleep, make sure you get your rest. But everything else is the same. I wake up, I walk my dogs, come here and watch the film, then walk my dogs again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Murray-Boyles and Mamukelashvili said they\u2019ll have to be more physical to slow down the Cavaliers.<\/p>\n

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\u201cGet up in peoples\u2019 grills, but, also, I have to be smart,\u201d said Murray-Boyles. \u201cThis will be a really big challenge for me to stay out of foul trouble and really lock into personnel and lock into what I need to do so I can be effective in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamukelashvili said every possession will matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the best player, but the best team that wins, and whoever plays harder and whoever wants it more,\u201d said Mamukelashvili. \u201cAlso with playoff basketball you can never underestimate anybody, but also you cannot be scared of anybody.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve just got to come out there and just play hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2026.<\/p>\n

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