Toronto’s Game 1 struggles
Before the Raptors won the 2019 NBA Championship, there was a running joke about how they would always lose Game 1 in any playoff series. It wasn’t until the team’s 2017-18 first-round playoff series that they won a second Game 1 in franchise history. Before that, the Raptors as a franchise were a combined 1-12 in Game 1’s in the NBA playoffs. It’s actually quite remarkable.
However, this is still very much a storyline that will be discussed in the days leading up to Game 1 against the Nets. Even if it is just somewhat playful. During last year’s championship run, the Raptors were just 2-2 in Game 1’s. Still an issue? Who knows, but it’s absolutely something to keep an eye on.
How will the Raptors look in their first game that actually matters after playing a, for the most part, meaningless stretch of bubble games? It remains to be seen, but it could give us a sneak peek at which Raptors team we’ll see in the playoffs.
For a team that is expected to have a deep run, they’re going to need to be crisp from the opening tip.