Three Things: Game 1, Stopping LeVert, Getting Siakam Going
It's time for Game 1.
That might be a scary thought for Toronto Raptors fans who have seen their team go 4-15 in Game 1s since 1995. It's truly a ridiculous statistic and if you believe in voodoo than the Raptors will lose this afternoon's playoff opener against the Brooklyn Nets.
It's possible the Nets who are +475 underdogs in Game 1 — implying about an 18% chance of winning — do indeed win the opener, but this series shouldn't take more than four or five games at most.
That being said, here are a few things to look for in today's game:
1: Voodoo
Kyle Lowry opened last year's playoffs with a statistical dud. He scored 0 points in a 104-101 loss to the Orlando Magic.
This year Toronto will once again open their playoffs in Orlando but in a very different situation.
The Raptors went 3-1 against the Nets this year, back when Brooklyn was relatively healthy. Now with Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Taurean Prince all out, the only thing that should be able to stop Toronto in Game 1 is a little voodoo.
2: Stopping Caris LeVert
The Nets' Caris LeVert has been one of the stars of the NBA's return, averaging 25 points, on 48% shooting with nearly seven assists in the seeding games, earning him All-Seeding Games Second Team honors.
If there's one player that could give Toronto headaches, it's certainly him and the Raptors know that going into the series.
“He’s been great. He really can score the ball. I think his tempo and his patience have been amazing and just his composure," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said Sunday. "If people converge he’ll make the nice wraparound pass or the up-high pass to the big rolling, mostly to Allen, who does a great job of screening and rolling. And then if he ISOs up top he’s got more than one go-to move. He’s got a couple go-to moves that he can again use his size and his length and the form of his shot – he puts it way up high above his head so it’s hard to (block). Even when he’s guarded tightly he can still score ‘em.”
Fred VanVleet spent the most time defending LeVert of any Raptors starter during the regular season, but LeVert didn't seem to have much trouble, shooting 7-for-8 with 15 points in 20.8 partial possessions, according to NBA stats. Toronto might keep that matchup, but don't be surprised if OG Anunoby spends some time locking down LeVert. He was typically used to defend Prince during the regular season, but with Prince out, Anunoby should be free to slow down LeVert in the series.
3: Getting Siakam Going
Pascal Siakam enters the playoffs with the most to prove of any Raptors player. Last year he showed he can be a No. 2 scorer on a championship team and this year he's trying to show he can be the top option on a championship contender. Within the organization there's a confidence he'll have no trouble transitioning to the No. 1 guy, but he's still yet to show it when the postseason rolls around.
Coming into the playoffs, the seeding games weren't particularly kind to Siakam. He saw his pre-pandemic slash line of 23.6 points on nearly 46% shooting with 7.5 rebounds drop to 16.9 points on just over 39% shooting with nearly six rebounds in the NBA bubble.
For Siakam, the lesson from last year's playoff run was staying even-keeled through it all.
"It doesn't matter what happens. Have the same intensity," He said Saturday. "Just continue to play and we know there is probably going to be ups and downs, and you just understand that that's the nature of the game and the nature of the playoffs."
Toronto will want to use the Nets series to get Siakam into a groove because one the second round starts, things are going to get a lot harder.
