NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference Finals
Tip-off: Monday, 8:35 p.m. ET
Line: Cleveland -6.0, Total: 197.0

The Raptors will be looking to even up the series when they host the Cavaliers in Game 4 on Monday.

The Cavaliers thought they were going to breeze through the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Raptors have other ideas. Toronto came out in Game 3 and dominated Cleveland, winning 99-84 as a 5.5-point home favorite. The Raptors played a flawless game on both ends of the floor, shooting 45.8% from the floor and holding the Cavaliers to just 35.4% shooting. They’ll need to bring another solid two-way effort on Monday night or they’ll be facing an insurmountable 3-1 deficit. One thing that bodes well for Cleveland is the fact that the team is 8-1 ATS revenging a straight up loss versus an opponent as a road favorite on the season. Toronto does, however, get to face a Cavaliers team that is just 1-8 ATS in road games after four straight contests forcing its opponent to commit 14 or fewer turnovers on the year. C Jonas Valanciunas (Ankle) is likely to miss this game for the Raptors, but he is the only player that is expected to be out for either team in this one.

The Cavaliers are going to need to play with some passion on Monday night, as this series is now competitive once again. If Cleveland is going to win Game 4 and take a 3-1 lead then the team is going to need PG Kyrie Irving (23.7 PPG, 4.8 APG, 1.3 SPG in playoffs) and PF Kevin Love (17.0 PPG, 10.3 RPG in playoffs) to play a lot better. The two of them were absolutely dreadful on Saturday, combining to shoot 4-for-28 from the floor and 2-for-11 from the outside. These are two guys that are considered superstars around the league and they will need to play like it on Monday. SF LeBron James (23.5 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 7.1 APG, 2.4 SPG in playoffs) will also need to be more aggressive for Cleveland on Monday. James was just 1-for-5 from three in Game 3 and he should probably not be taking that many outside shots moving forward. He is at his best when attacking the rim and will need to start doing that early and often in Game 4. If he does then the Cavaliers should be able to keep this game close.

The Raptors showed a ton of heart in Game 3 and now have a chance to tie the series up in Game 4 on Monday. One guy who really came up big on Saturday was C Bismack Biyombo (6.3 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 1.3 BPG in playoffs). The big man scored just seven points in the game, but he did grab an absurd 26 rebounds and also blocked four shots for Toronto. He’ll need to continue to do the little things for the Raptors moving forward. Another guy that really played well for the Raptors in Game 3 was PG Kyle Lowry (17.6 PPG, 6.2 APG, 1.6 SPG in playoffs). Lowry finished the game with 20 points, six boards and three assists in 33 minutes of action in that one. He was 7-for-13 from the floor and 4-for-8 from the outside, but he also shut down Kyrie Irving on the defensive end. If he can continue to outplay the Cavaliers’ point guard then the Raptors could tie this series up. SG DeMar DeRozan (20.7 PPG, 1.1 SPG in playoffs) was also incredible in Game 3, scoring 32 points on 12-for-24 shooting from the floor. If he can continue to find a way to score efficiently then it’d be huge for the Raptors moving forward.