Interim head coach Larry Drew thinks the latest bar-measuring win of the Cleveland Cavaliers over the East-leading Toronto Raptors can prove to be the one game that turns this season around for the Cavs.
Having gone toe-to-toe for most of the game and pulled off a three-point lead over the Raptors in the last quarter, the Cavs showed their championship mettle against the best team in the East with a 132-129 show-stopping victory to make it three straight wins and four in the last five outings.
“I always say there is one game during the season that changes your team,” Drew said, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “That game can be early, it can be midway, it can be late. There’s always one game that kind of changes your team, the mindset. And I really believe tonight’s game might have done that for us.”
LeBron James, who became the first player to ever score 30-plus points, assist in 17 baskets, and commit no turnovers, according to Basketball-Reference via Tim Cato of SB Nation, disagreed with the statement made by his coach.
“Turn around the season? We only got like 11 games left,” Jame said when informed of Drew’s declaration. “The season is almost over. So we want to continue just to work our habits, and we’ll see what happens.”
The Cavs have progressed despite dealing with a myriad of injuries and the unfortunate death of Kyle Korver’s younger brother Kirk, as he remains away from the team during a very pivotal stretch of the season.