The hallmark of this Toronto Raptors postseason has been their impressive defense. In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, they proved once again why this defense is worthy of the grandest stage.
Calling cards. That’s what all the great teams have. The Golden State Warriors of years gone by have relied on their ability to get out and push the tempo as well as their three-point shooting. Their Finals opponents, the Toronto Raptors, have leaned on a particular trait of their own during the playoff.
Defense. And lots of it.
The Raptors are on a five-game winning streak in the playoffs right now, following the Game 1 victory over the defending champion, Golden State Warriors on Thursday night. That span saw them stifle the Milwaukee Bucks through Games 3-6, making life difficult for one of the best players in the NBA – and likely MVP – in Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Slowing down the Golden State Warriors would ultimately prove to be a completely different monster though. A team that has been together this long and been to the top of the mountain this many times has a few tricks up its sleeve — even without two time NBA Finals MVP, Kevin Durant.
Having two all-time great shooters like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson beside an incredible facilitator like Draymond Green helps as well. Curry has an inept ability to never stop moving, giving his opponents fits, while dodging between multiple picks, slaloming around the court like he’s gliding on ice.
However, this Raptors team has proven to be an elite defensive unit this year, with the additions of Kawhi Leonard, Marc Gasol, and Danny Green all proving to be pivotal upgrades at their respective positions.
Looking up and down the roster, ask yourself, who is the *worst* defender on the team and are they actually a bad defender?
The answer will be no. Every player that features in the rotation has the IQ or the hustle to make plays defensively. The Raptors are blessed. They swallowed up the Warriors for large stretches in Game 1, holding them to 43-percent shooting from the field, forcing them into 17 turnovers and managed to turn their great defense into transition points.
How did they manage to do it, though?
Interior Defense
Defense starts from within itself. You defend the paint and then work your way out. The easiest look in basketball is around the rim, which is why defending the paint is where games can be won and lost.
In short; take away the easy looks and force teams to create elsewhere. A surefire way to success but nothing is ever as easy as it seems. One of life’s many mantras, especially if you are ever the pessimist.
The Raptors have made their interior defense look like a relative doddle at times, and Game 1 was no exception. The amount of length the team possesses acts as a deterrent for would-be scorers around the rim, with like likes of Pascal Siakam and Gasol providing a solid wall in the restricted area.
Defensive plays like the one above were a prime example of how the Raptors held the Warriors to just 32 points in the paint in Game 1. Everyone knows how good of a passer Draymond Green is for the Warriors, and when he’s barrelling to the rim, defenders want to help off their shooters and protect the rim.
That gives Green the time to look up and kick it out to an open shooter, and if your open shooters are Curry and Thompson you are going to make your opponents pay. Green has tunnel vision pretty early on in the clip and with the Raptors defenders staying home on the shooters, it leaves Draymond with the tough task of finishing over Marc Gasol in the paint.
While Gasol doesn’t have the foot speed he once possessed, he still knows where he needs to be on the court and still has a large frame to contest with. That makes Green’s job all the more difficult. Gasol extends himself, doesn’t lean into contact and makes a great stop on the defensive end.
It wasn’t just one-on-one situations around the paint for the Raptors, though. They constantly helped off their man to protect the paint and support at the appropriate time.
The lack of shooters outside of Curry and Thompson could prove to be a real problem for the Warriors in this series. In the clip above, Leonard is allowed to help off of Andre Iguodala, who finished 0-of-4 from three and converge on Thompson in the paint who is guarded by Lowry.
The two defenders delay Thompson long enough for Siakam to come from behind and time the block perfectly. The Warriors did score on the second chance, something that did prove to be a problem throughout the game, but the initial defense is wonderful.
High IQ Defensive Plays
The picture above is no surprise. It’s Kyle Lowry on the deck after taking yet another charge in Game 1.
Lowry leads the playoffs in charges taken with 15, almost double the amount of Damian Lillard who’s second on the list. Lowry has proven himself time and time again to be one of the smartest players in the game and has no problem putting his body on the line in order to win.
Kyle was back at it again in Game 1, racking up another two charges against the Warriors. In the clip above, Draymond Green only has eyes for the rim once again, getting a handoff from Curry at the top of the key and driving into the open space. Lowry trusts his instincts, knowing that Green – a considerably poor jump shooter – isn’t going to pull-up from midrange, stays at home in the paint and slides in front of Green as he bounds wilfully into the paint.
Having five players on the court who can make smart reads and defensive plays at all times is not something many teams can brag about. The Raptors have that luxury, though, and only made themselves better at the trade deadline when they picked up another former Defensive Player of the Year.
Gasol has been an anchor for the Raptors defense from the moment he stepped in the door, and now, 45 games into his Raptors career, his impact is more pronounced than ever before.
The Raptors have athletic guys who can provide a lot of defense while being able to recover onto the player they are initially guarding, and while Gasol isn’t the most athletic player in the world, he still possesses the ability to get where he needs to be. Using his high IQ to position himself in the best way possible at all times.
He provides the initial help defense on Klay early on in this clip, forcing him to pass out of the post to Draymond Green at the three-point line. Rather than pull-up for a three, Green forces, what looks like a pass to a wide-open Jordan Bell in the paint.
Gasol, like the elite defender he is, reads the pass immediately and steps back into the paint on his recovery, palming the ball out of the air and turning the Warriors over. The Raptors forced the Warriors into 17 turnovers in Game 1, and defensive plays like these are exactly why they were able to do it.
High IQ players make high IQ plays. Simple.
Consistent Defensive Intensity
Everything prior is a pretty moot point if the Raptors don’t provide the necessary hustle and defensive intensity to slow down the Warriors, who are averaging 16.5 fast break points per game in the playoffs.
The Warriors are at their best when they can set the pace of the game and get out in transition, a fairly similar game plan to the Raptors. And it works.
Toronto was able to control the tempo of the game, slowing down the Warriors in the fastbreak game and outscoring them by seven points in transition. More than that, they applied pressure constantly all night, making life hell for Steph Curry and Co.
Gasol was a dominant presence against Curry all night, stepping up on him and double-teaming him with Danny Green and Fred VanVleet, who held Curry to 16-percent shooting, multiple times throughout the game.
In the clip above, Gasol and Green trap Curry down the sideline and force him to try pass over the two lengthy defenders into Kevon Looney. Their active hands make it difficult for Curry to see the pass, and Green tips the attempt before it’s stolen by Leonard and the Raptors head down the other end and score in transition.
Toronto trapped Curry multiple times in the night, forcing him into an offensive foul early in the night when his pass was tipped by Gasol. Curry did end up with 34 points in the game, but they were able to force the ball out of his hands on several occasions, slowing down his rhythm and forcing him into bad decisions.
Even with the Warriors got the looks they wanted, it didn’t always work out quite as well as they would hope, which leads us to one of the plays of the game.
Green drives past Siakam and heads to the rim, seemingly for an easy layup. But Siakam is an elite athlete and one of the best recovery defenders in the NBA. His speed and length make him a nightmare for defenders when he has the ball in his hands, but as a defender, it makes him just as dangerous.
Siakam had two blocks in the game, but this was the one that stood out. He was able to recover and get to the rim in time to send Green’s layup off the backboard and out of danger. A truly elite play from a player that has proved to be one of the best defenders in the NBA this season.
All these moments amalgamate to provide one strong piece of analysis. That the Raptors have proven themselves as the elite defensive team in the NBA.
It’s only Game 1 and there are still three wins to go if the Raptors want to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy, but there’s a clear path to success for Toronto. It starts with defense.