The Toronto Raptors will once again have to go through the Cleveland Cavaliers this postseason in hopes to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Cavs have been the team's kryptonite in the last two postseasons — taking them out in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2016 and sweeping them out in the semifinals last season, as Golden State and Cleveland rammed through their opposition in a collision course en route to the NBA Finals.

This time around, the Raptors boast the best record in the East and look to capitalize on an even more LeBron James-centric Cavs team that struggled to make it out of its first-round series.

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“You've got to go in with a healthy amount of respect and a healthy amount of disrespect,” warned coach Dwane Casey, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN. “And he will respect that. Jordan respected that, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, those great ones respect you coming at 'em.”

The Pacers were mired in a pick-your-poison scenario, hesitant to double-team James in fear of him getting his teammates going, but the strategy backfired, as a determined King James notched three 44-plus-point performances in the seven-game series, ultimately eliminating Indiana from playoff contention.

The Raptors are a much-improved defensive team with ample scoring options from the bench, but they will first have to shake off the ghost of years past and get off to a strong start in Game 1, which could prove pivotal in their postseason future.

Toronto re-designed its offensive strategy in hopes to get past this hurdle, making the offense less guard-focused and applying motion to their sets. This time around, results could go in the Raptors favor if they stay true to their new-found principals and strike fearlessly as Casey wants them to.