Five takeaways from Toronto Raptors crushing loss to Warriors

The Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors are officially tied at 1-1. What were the five biggest takeaways from Sunday’s heartbreaking Game 2 loss?

Midway through the second quarter, the Toronto Raptors were on top of the world. They were up 12, their offense was firing on all cylinders, and more importantly, the Golden State Warriors could not generate any open looks.

Then, the Golden State avalanche hit. The Warriors made their run, and just like that, took back the lead. A monster 27-3 run took control out of the Raptors hands and evened the series.

Toronto fought back in the fourth, but it was a too-little, too-late. If they had another three minutes, they likely could have made a comeback. But they didn’t, and now the series is tied 1-1.

The Raptors have lost homecourt advantage, but this series is still very much up for grabs. Toronto has a couple of key points they can adjust with and use moving forward. What did we learn from Game 2? Here are my five biggest takeaways:

Tale of two offenses

Although they posted similar scoring numbers, the Raptors and Warriors offenses looked completely different throughout Sunday night’s game. Toronto survived on second-chance points and isolation buckets. The Warriors moved the ball around like a Spurs wet-dream.

Golden State finished with 34 assists on 38 field goals. Their offense relied on back cuts and ball movement for continuous open looks at the rim. When Nick Nurse closes his eyes he likely can still see Draymond Green attacking the lane, throwing lobs to 34-year-old centers who have been playing in Australia for the past year. 

The Raptors offense was much uglier than that. According to CleaningTheGlass, Toronto scored just 77.2 points per 100 possessions in the half court. They recorded just 17 assists as a team, half of what the Warriors produced. If the Raptors didn’t outscore the Warriors 23-0 in second-chance points, this game wouldn’t have been close.

Toronto looked like a team who was just put together, while the Warriors looked like a team who has been playing together for years. You can still win games when your offense isn’t as pretty, and the Raptors almost won this one. However, it’s extremely hard when you’re fighting and scraping for every bucket. The Warriors were able to generate easy looks when the Raptors weren’t.

It also doesn’t help your offense when four of your five starters play poorly.