The Toronto Raptors won Game 1 against the Golden State Warriors, and as a result, are up 1-0 in the NBA Finals. What were the game’s biggest takeaways?
The Toronto Raptors officially have the best Finals winning percentage of any franchise in NBA history. Sure, that’s because they’ve only played one game. But to be fair, it was one heck of a game.
The Golden State Warriors, the greatest franchise since the 90’s Bulls and the modern-NBA dynasty of our time, have been punched in the mouth. Toronto came out with their hair on fire and basically owned this game from start to finish.
The first half saw a few lead changes, but the entire time it felt as if the Raptors were in control. After the break, Toronto never trailed and was up by at least five for nearly the entire time. The game’s final minutes watched the Raptors milk the clock as they secured Game 1.
Of course, this series is still far from over. Toronto still has three more games to win, and have simply taken care of business at home in Game 1. However, what we learned in this game, can be very impactful for the rest of the series.
What were the five biggest takeaways from Game 1?
Raptors half-court, first shot defense
The Raptors halfcourt defense was absolutely lock-down tremendous in Game 1, particularly on the initial shot. In total, the Warriors finished with a 112.4 offensive rating. Below, but not tremendously lower than their regular and postseason figure.
However, Golden State scored just 83.9 points per 100 possessions in the halfcourt, according to Cleaningtheglass. That ranks in the bottom 21-percentile of all games this season, a figure the Warriors are not used to posting.
Golden State survived by scoring 17 points in transition and 20 second-chance points. If Toronto is able to limit those “hustle” type figures, it will be nearly impossible for the Warriors to generate consistent offense.
Toronto is aggressively helping off non-splash-brother shooters and paying no respect to players like Andre Iguodala and Draymond Green on above-the-break threes. The Raptors are begging those other options to beat them, and so far, they’ve been unable to do it.
Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry did combine for 54 total points, but again, much of it (24) came from scrambled plays rather than against Toronto’s halfcourt defense.
When the Raptors were set, Golden State had a very difficult time generation open looks, and until Kevin Durant comes back, they might be in trouble.
They also might be in trouble, if they can’t contain Spicy P.