The Cavs were watching Raptors-Bucks and enthusiastically rooting for a Game 7
The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently enjoying as much downtime as they’ve had since the All-Star break. They closed out the Indiana Pacers in four games on Sunday. Four days later, they still didn’t know who their second round opponent would be.
They finally found out Thursday night. The Toronto Raptors held on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 92-89 in Game 6, meaning the Cavs will host the Raptors on Monday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semis.
But, if a 34-second Snapchat story from Cavs forward Richard Jefferson is any indication, they were really hoping the Raptors-Bucks series would go seven (or just having some fun during their week without a game):
Cavs were almost so happy if the Bucks won and they'd get more rest ???? pic.twitter.com/TWb67bE6ou
— Alysha Tsuji (@AlyshaTsuji) April 28, 2017
The Cavs knew they were playing Monday, regardless of Thursday’s result. And, to be honest, they probably weren’t overly concerned with who their second-round opponent would be. But oh, man, did they want that extra day off of practice.
Or maybe only Richard Jefferson did. In the second of four Snapchat videos, you can hear him yelling, “He got fouled! He got fouled! Yeaaaaah! That’s an and-one! He hit a three! That’s an and-o—hahahahaha!”
Meanwhile, Jefferson, the talented Snapchat-er that he is, captured somebody else throwing a napkin, seemingly in celebration. The video was likely taken while the Bucks were erasing a 25-point second-half deficit and eventually taking the lead in the fourth quarter. A Milwaukee win would have evened the series at three, and forced the teams to play a Game 7 in Toronto on Saturday.
But alas, the Raptors pulled through in the fourth quarter. And, if we’re reading Jefferson’s Snapchats correctly, they’ll practice tomorrow to begin preparations for the Raptors, who fell to the Cavs 4-2 in the Eastern Conference finals last year.
“So we meet again Canada,” Jefferson wrote as part of his Snapchat story, with the Canadian national anthem playing in the background. Then Jefferson gave his own rendition of the song with Tristan Thompson — a Toronto native — sitting next to him.
The caption for that last video: “Wonder if Drake is going to be there.”
And with that, let the anticipation for Cavs-Raptors Game 1 begin.
See you soon, @Raptors. #DefendTheLand pic.twitter.com/SnBSXMLip0
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) April 28, 2017