Regular season meetings don’t often provide blueprints for how a pair of postseason opponents might -- or should -- play against each other.  Usually, though, they’re at least helpful to sketch out likely strategies, assess strengths and weaknesses and offer a tiny glimpse into what lies ahead. 

Good luck applying that to the Cleveland-Toronto Eastern Conference semifinals series that begins Monday at Quicken Loans Arena (7 p.m. ET, TNT).  The Cavaliers and the Raptors met four times in 2016-17 but three of those were crammed into the season’s first six weeks.  Their fourth clash came in game No.  82, a game where Cleveland rested LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love and Toronto’s starters played limited minutes. 

What will it take for Cleveland or Toronto to win this series? 

Both teams were significantly different in roster make-up and results back on Dec. 5 from where they wound up over the past four-and-a-half months.  The Cavs’ starting lineup was intact, but its bench had an entirely different look, with Mike Dunleavy, DeAndre Liggins, Chris Andersen and Jordan McRae sitting in spots held now by Kyle Korver, Derrick Williams, Deron Williams and Kay Felder.