Larry Nance Jr. says 2018 Cavs celebrated as soon as they knew they’d face Raptors in 2nd round: ‘They had no shot’

According to former Cleveland Cavaliers big man Larry Nance Jr., the 2017-18 iteration of the team rejoiced after it became clear that Cleveland would face off against the Toronto Raptors in the second round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs.

“They had not shot,” Nance said of the Raptors’ chances of beating the Cavaliers in the 2018 NBA Playoffs. “None — from the second it was Cavs-Raptors, they had no shot. And it’s not like — they were a really good team. But the whole ‘LeBronto’ thing was real. The second it was scheduled, it was like a party in our locker room, like, ‘Hoo! We gonna get a little break before the Eastern Conference Finals! This is awesome!'”

When factoring in how the Cavaliers fared against the Raptors in the 2016 and 2017 NBA Playoffs, the players on Cleveland’s roster had every right to feel confident heading into the second-round series against Toronto in 2018. The Cavaliers sent the Raptors home in each of those two prior seasons.

In the 2016 NBA Playoffs, the teams met in the Eastern Conference Finals. For what it’s worth, Toronto actually gave the Cavaliers a run for their money in that best-of-seven series. The series was tied at two games apiece at one point after Toronto won Games 3 and 4. But the Cavaliers responded by taking Games 5 and 6 and thus won the series in six games.

In the 2017 NBA Playoffs, Cleveland and Toronto met in the second round, and that matchup was incredibly one-sided. The Cavaliers swept the Raptors, and three of Cleveland’s four victories came by 10 points or more. Two of the team’s victories were by more than 20 points.

Cleveland’s decision to celebrate the news that it was playing the Raptors in the 2018 NBA Playoffs aged well considering how that series panned out.

The Cavaliers once again eliminated the Raptors in a sweep, though the series was arguably more competitive than the previous year’s playoff matchup. After all, two of the four games of the series were decided by two points or less. Cleveland won Game 1 by one point in overtime and came out on top by only two in Game 3.

Nance and the Cavaliers’ tenure in the 2018 NBA Playoffs later came to an end against the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors gave Cleveland a taste of its own medicine in the 2018 NBA Finals, as not long after the Cavaliers swept the Raptors, they were swept themselves by Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and company.