There have been plenty of signs through two games that LeBron James and the Cavaliers are toying with the Raptors. There was the off-the-backboard alley-oop minutes into game one. There was LeBron with the beer. There was the fact the Cavaliers crushed the Raptors the first two games.
What had the Raptors’ ire after Game 2 was LeBron spinning the ball in his hand in front of Serge Ibaka, before hitting a three right over him. The Raptors saw it as disrespectful.
"It shows that we're playing too soft...that stops tonight." - Norman Powell on LeBron spinning ball
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) May 5, 2017
“It’s bait,” James told ESPN at Cavs shootaround ahead of Friday’s Game 3. “If [Ibaka] would have reached in, I would have put it on the floor.
“It was a mental thing. Everything I do is mental.”
This is really simple: Raptors, if you don’t like LeBron taunting you, do something about it. Get physical. Make a game close. Anything like that would work. Raptors coach Dwane Casey said pregame he wants his team to get physical, we will see if they do.
If you let LeBron do what he wants, this is what you get.
