{"id":716244,"date":"2026-04-23T00:21:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T00:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/716244\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T00:21:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T00:21:17","slug":"raptors-running-out-of-time-to-apply-hard-learned-lessons-in-series-with-cavaliers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/716244\/","title":{"rendered":"Raptors running out of time to apply hard-learned lessons in series with Cavaliers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Toronto Raptors guard Ja’kobe Walter (14) and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reach for the ball during Monday’s Game 2 of their first-round playoff series in Cleveland.Sue Ogrocki\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic called the first two games of his team\u2019s first-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers a learning experience.<\/p>\n

If the Raptors want to overcome the 0-2 deficit and fight back in the best-of-seven series, which resumes Thursday for Game 3 at Scotiabank Arena, they\u2019ll need to apply those lessons quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cExpecting us to be perfect right now would not be fair toward our team and the young core that we have,\u201d said Rajakovic. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut when you look at the big picture, how important those are, and what are we learning through this? I\u2019m telling you, our team is so much better now than seven days ago. We already got so much better. We\u2019re going to continue getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Raptors dropped a lopsided 126-113 decision in Game 1 in Cleveland. Game 2 was tighter, but Toronto still lost 115-105 on Monday.<\/p>\n

Cathal Kelly: With a cold-shooting Brandon Ingram, the Raptors have a first-round glass ceiling<\/a><\/p>\n

As the series shifts to Toronto for the next two games, the Raptors face a steep climb to reach the second round for the first time since 2020. But they remain confident in their ability to respond at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that the [Game 2] effort was better. We got some answers. We got some adjustments. We got more adjustments coming,\u201d Rajakovic said on Wednesday after practice at Toronto\u2019s OVO Athletic Centre. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of the playoff series. We\u2019re excited to come home, play in front of our fans, get the Jurassic Park going outside of the arena and fight back.\u201d<\/p>\n

One area the Raptors are looking to clean up is turnovers, which have been an issue through the first two games. The Raptors turned the ball over 17 times in Game 1 compared to 15 for Cleveland. In Game 2, Toronto recorded 22 turnovers to Cleveland\u2019s 12.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) goes to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) during Monday’s Game 2 of their first round playoff series at Rocket Arena.David Dermer\/Reuters<\/p>\n

\u201cI think [Game 2] was really decided with our 22 turnovers that led to 22 points,\u201d said Rajakovic. \u201cThat\u2019s something that you cannot live with in the playoffs and expect to win. And that\u2019s a big area of emphasis for us, how to get better through that.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the Raptors want to pull even in the series, they\u2019ll also need more from all-star Brandon Ingram, who had just seven points on 3-for-15 field-goal attempts in Game 2.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m confident I won\u2019t miss all my shots and find a rhythm,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cBut I\u2019m also confident in our team. I don\u2019t want to sit here and make this all about what I\u2019m doing.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rajakovic said Immanuel Quickley, the Raptors\u2019 starting point guard who has missed the first two games of the series with a strained right hamstring, continues to progress in his recovery. It is not yet clear if he\u2019ll suit up for Game 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiterally every day, he\u2019s feeling better, he\u2019s moving better, he\u2019s running better. He\u2019s going through that process of return to play,\u201d Rajakovic said. \u201cHe\u2019s on the court right now getting extra work, so we\u2019ll see where he\u2019s at tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Second-year guard Jamal Shead started in Quickley\u2019s place in Games 1 and 2.<\/p>\n

As the Raptors look to apply lessons from the first two games in Game 3, they\u2019re counting on the Scotiabank Arena crowd to help turn the series.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had 41 games at home, and [the fans] showed out every time, they were super energetic,\u201d said Raptors forward Sandro Mamukelashvili. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey were always very involved. They care, and I think it\u2019s a great atmosphere at home. I saw how it was in Cleveland. I think our fans are better than Cleveland fans, so they just got to come out there and give us the extra boost we need.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Toronto Raptors guard Ja’kobe Walter (14) and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716245,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3770],"tags":[10388,10376,7,10389,4500,9436,10390,4821,10371,10382,10383,10378,10372,10370,7678,6682,10387,10381,10375,10401,10373,10374,10380,10377,1943,2679,10391,9876,6,10396,10397,10399,10394,10398,10392,10395,6870,10385,10386,3559,10384,10393,681,83,1963,680,476,3820,9087,10379,4486,447,10400],"class_list":{"0":"post-716244","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-raptors","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-bc","12":"tag-breaking-news","13":"tag-breaking-news-video","14":"tag-british-columbia","15":"tag-canada","16":"tag-canada-news","17":"tag-canada-sports","18":"tag-canada-sports-news","19":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","20":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","21":"tag-canadian-news","22":"tag-economy","23":"tag-education","24":"tag-environment","25":"tag-federal-government","26":"tag-foreign-news","27":"tag-globe-and-mail","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","29":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","30":"tag-government","31":"tag-life-news","32":"tag-lifestyle","33":"tag-local-news","34":"tag-manitoba","35":"tag-national-news","36":"tag-nba","37":"tag-new-brunswick","38":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","39":"tag-northwest-territories","40":"tag-nova-scotia","41":"tag-nunavut","42":"tag-ontario","43":"tag-pei","44":"tag-photos","45":"tag-political-news","46":"tag-political-opinion","47":"tag-politics","48":"tag-politics-news","49":"tag-quebec","50":"tag-raptors","51":"tag-sports-news","52":"tag-technology","53":"tag-toronto","54":"tag-toronto-raptors","55":"tag-torontoraptors","56":"tag-travel","57":"tag-trudeau","58":"tag-us-news","59":"tag-world-news","60":"tag-yukon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716244"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716244\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}