East Conf. Semis: Toronto Raptors vs Cleveland Cavaliers - Preview, SWOT Analysis, and Prediction

Prediction

DeMar DeRozan and LeBron James

The Raptors and the Cavaliers have both got questions to resolve. But all the statistics point almost exclusively to just one factor - the Raptors are just a better basketball team all-in-all. The fact that they also have home court advantage in the event of a Game 7 at the Air Canada Center - a place where they have a 34-7 record during the regular season - should count decisively in their favor.

Even Michael Jordan did have a couple of playoff losses, and they were all to teams significantly better than his own Bulls. LeBron is faced with a similar situation here. There is not much the Raptors can do to stop him from averaging 35/10/7 like he did against the Pacers, but while playing a team as multi-faceted as Toronto, the efforts of one player do not generally count for much in the overall scheme of things.

The Raptors should prevail in this series within 6 games. They will probably win both their initial home games and take a win from the Quicken Loans Arena home for game 5, where they will possibly lose to a superhuman effort by King James. But they will close it out in game 6, advancing to their second Conference Finals series in 3 years.