Three takeaways from Toronto Raptors disappointing loss to Magic

In a disappointing performance, the Toronto Raptors lost game one of the series to the Orlando Magic. What did we learn from the loss?

Wow. What a game. In a tradition like no other, the Toronto Raptors drop game one of the opening series. As the number two seed at home, the Raptors fall to the Magic, 104-101.

It’s hard to call this anything other than a colossal disappointment, and while it’s important not to overreact, it’s hard to take much positive away from this game.

Early on, the game was going according to plan. Despite a cold-start shooting the ball, Toronto jumped out to an eight-point lead late in the first quarter. After disappointing all season, the bench provided some much-needed punch.

Then, the missed shots started to catch up with the Raptors. Toronto couldn’t buy a bucket, and the Magic were starting to feel themselves in transition. From 5:38 to 1:30 in the second quarter, the Magic went on a 20-2 run. Things were looking ugly.

The Raptors calmed themselves down by scoring the final eight points of the half, and the Magic led by 12 at the break.

The Raptors came out hot to start the third. They increased their defensive pressure, shots started to fall, and they grabbed back the lead. Heading into the fourth, Toronto led by one.

The two teams traded back-and-forth blows throughout the fourth quarter and with 1:35 remaining the Magic led by three. Kawhi Leonard hit a MONSTER step back three-point shot, and the game was tied. The next possession, the Raptors got a stop. Kawhi Leonard isolated and settled for a contested step-back jumper. He cashed it.

Orlando scored the next possession, the game was tied. Marc Gasol missed an open corner three, and the Magic had the ball in a tied game with 26 seconds remaining. D.J. Augustin, who killed the Raptors all game, drained a three with seconds remaining.

The Raptors had one final shot. A Kawhi Leonard air-ball. Orlando wins game one.

Jodie Meeks/Ibaka and Gasol

Prior to the game, I wondered who would take OG Anunoby‘s spot in the rotation. Early in the first, Nick Nurse went to Ibaka at power forward, and it seemed as if the Raptors were going to cut the rotation to eight. With the Ibaka, Gasol pairing looked clunky and inefficient on offense, Toronto pulled it quickly.

Jodie Meeks subbed into the game. Meeks gave the Raptors three points in two minutes, hitting a huge and-one on the baseline. Toronto was +4 in his limited time on the court.

Despite moderate success in the first half, Nurse decided not to go back to Meeks. Instead, Nurse opted to try the Ibaka and Gasol combination again. In their limited during the third, they outscored the Magic 4-2.

Rather than giving another player real time, Nurse has elected to try and use smoke-and-mirrors to compensate for Anunoby’s minutes.

Three-point shooting

The Raptors could not buy a bucket early in the game. Toronto generated a myriad of open looks only to continuously clank every shot imaginable. They started 4-19 from the field as the significantly worse shooting Magic hit 50-percent of their first-half bombs.

In the final minutes of the first half, Marc Gasol and Danny Green knocked down a pair of triples, stabilizing the Raptors a bit.

The second half, the Raptors shot more like the team we saw in the regular season. However, the damage was done. Toronto cost themselves what could have been a big lead if they were able to shoot it early.

Kyle Lowry

Kyle Lowry impacts the game in a million different ways. He dishes dimes is an excellent rebounder for a guard and just makes winning plays. But you CANNOT have your All-Star point guard score Zero points in a bigtime playoff game. You just can’t.

Lowry went 0-7 from the field, including 0-6 from three. After the first couple of misses, you could start to feel the tension with every jumper he took. His inability to score within the arc certainly didn’t help. Failing to get to the line was another detrimental factor.

Kyle Lowry is too important to the Raptors to put up duds like this. If Toronto wants to make noise in the playoffs, he needs to be better.