CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers have had the plan in place for quite some time, a strategy sitting in their back pocket.

Following the limited practices they had throughout the season and some of their shootarounds, head coach Tyronn Lue dedicated the final 15 minutes or so every time to sharpening it. It's been in the defensive playbook for the last three years, a comfortable plan for them. Given their personnel, the Cavs believe it's one of the best schemes.

That aggressive trapping strategy has frustrated DeMar DeRozan and led to back-to-back blowouts in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"We know DeMar's a great player, and our strategy since I've been here the last three years is just take away what a team does the best," Lue said. "We know he's a great scorer so we want to pay great attention to him."

J.R. Smith has earned plenty of praise for his individual defense, staying locked in throughout the game, not biting on DeRozan's pump fake, cutting off his angles to the basket, keeping him out of the paint and staying attached to his body when he uses screens away from the ball. When Smith checks out, Iman Shumpert takes over. But it's the Cavaliers' blitz that has led to most of the success.

In Game 1, the Cavs trapped DeRozan 24 times. He scored three times when faced with it. Oftentimes he tried to pass out of the double team, make the right basketball play. Other moments he appeared flustered, committing four turnovers or jacking ill-advised jumpers. On Monday night, DeRozan finished with 19 points on 7-of-16 from the field. He went to the free-throw line just five times.

"Just trying to keep him uncomfortable at all times," Shumpert said. "J.R.'s been doing a tremendous job of even when he does get to his spots he's got a contest there, nobody's going for shot fakes. His work is cut out for him this series."

The Cavs increased the pressure even more Wednesday. DeRozan touched the ball 35 times, seeing a second defender on 31 of them. He passed out of the double 22 times and shot 0-of-9 from the field. It all led to a forgettable night, scoring a season-low five points on 2-of-11 from the field. He didn't make his first basket until early in the fourth quarter.

"I'm just trying to go out there and make the right pass out of the double team, trust my teammates," DeRozan said. "We missed a lot of shots. I couldn't find a rhythm with all the doubling. It will be something I go back and look at and understand and figure out ways of attacking them."

This strategy isn't new. Many teams around the NBA use it. The Raptors saw it during the first round against the Milwaukee Bucks before eventually finding the answers. It's got a few different names too. "Trapping" or "blitzing" or "corralling" was at the core of James' Miami Heat teams, flying around the court and overwhelming opponents with speed and athleticism. It led to Miami having one of the best defensive teams until it started to wear down.

Blitzing takes discipline, communication and plenty of energy, which is why the Cavs didn't use it much throughout the regular season. But after their defense kept getting shredded in pick-and-roll situations and openly mocked heading into the playoffs, it was time for something different.

"We have to navigate the regular season," James Jones told cleveland.com. "It depends on who you are playing and what you're trying to accomplish. But it's just preference. It's nothing spectacular. It's five guys finding a way to fly around and cause havoc and push the tempo. For us it works because it forces quicker shots and allows us to get out in transition where we're at our best."

Jones' point is a good one. Personnel is at the center of the Cavs' trapping success.

Kevin Love is not the most accomplished defender, but he can move his feet from time to time, something he showed in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Tristan Thompson's athleticism, long arms and quick feet allow him to pester the ball handler and still recover in time. He's as comfortable guarding on the perimeter as in the paint. With Smith as the primary defender against DeRozan, James can play the roamer role that was so successful during Round One against Indiana.

DeRozan isn't the only one dealing with extra attention. The Cavs have tried the same with All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry, which has mitigated Kyrie Irving's struggles on that end.

But Lowry, a nifty passer, has handled it much better than DeRozan. On Wednesday, Lowry dropped repeated dimes to Jonas Valanciunas. The 7-footer finished with 23 points on 10-of-13 from the field.

That's the danger. Two guys on the ball will lead to someone else being open. Ball movement can cause chaos and confusion. It can lead to open shots. Serge Ibaka had seven uncontested shots in Game 2, only making three. Valanciunas had five. DeMarre Carroll got four, unable to connect on any of them, finishing 0-of-6 on the night. The Raptors as a team hoisted 40 uncontested looks in their 90 attempts.

"At times, you're going to give up some plays," Lue said. "Valanciunas got it going a little bit in the first half, and that's the result of us blitzing DeRozan, blitzing Kyle and they got some shots. When you're going to take away some players or take away some things, you're going to give up something."

DeRozan is the top name on the scouting report, the engine that makes the Raptors go. The Cavs don't believe Toronto has enough playmakers or accomplished 3-point shooters for the antidote.

"I think the fact that when you put two on the ball you're vulnerable because now it's 4-on-3 on the backside, now you have no choice but to fly around," James said. "You have no choice but to activate yourself because you're at a disadvantage when you put two on the ball.

"It's just a numbers game. I think it works well for us at this point and time right now because it just activates us and gets us moving, gets us talking and communicating. Stick with it and if we put the pressure on for a consistent time over a 48-minute game, then we feel like it works in our favor."

The Cavs have had extra practice sessions in the postseason and are taking advantage. Lue and his coaches have been waiting to lock into one opponent, show their chops, identify tendencies and try to exploit weakness. They did it against the Pacers, using the same strategy against Paul George late in the series.

This time, the Cavs understand the Raptors want to run isolations for Lowry and DeRozan. That's where DeRozan has been at his best, which is one reason they've shelved switching and opted for blitzing.

"We're aggressive. One thing you can't do is be passive when you're trapping and blitzing," Jones added. "In every sport usually the most aggressive team defensively has the most success. For us it's about not allowing good players to get a rhythm and feel comfortable. When you rely on strictly talent for talent you get yourself in trouble. For us, we're trying to make it about effort, energy and talent. You put all three of those things together we play at our best."

The Cavs were working on it behind the scenes, waiting for the right time to deploy the tactic. In one of the biggest regular season games against Boston, Isaiah Thomas and the Celtics looked helpless searching for an answer. The Raptors -- and DeRozan -- have that same defeated gaze.

"You can't always think about the percentages," Lue said. "You've got to think about what you're trying to take away defensively and make the team do something different they haven't done all season. That's our main focus."