It was, in several ways, perhaps the worst possible outcome for the Toronto Raptors.
For three-plus quarters on Tuesday night, the East’s top seed looked cool and in control in their opening salvo against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers — the team and chief foe that have killed their seasons each of the last two years.
As the fourth quarter drew along and the Raps’ double-digit lead — obtained by the team’s second-unit — began to evaporate that all-too familiar feeling of dread seemed to seep into the Air Canada Centre.
Heading into the series, Toronto had more support and endorsements than any previous post-season matchup with Cleveland. But there was still a large camp of those saying, essentially, that despite the Raptors’ regular season success, the team will revert back to it’s old ways once LeBron James stood across from them on the court in the post-season.
For me, that narrative we hear so often from major U.S. media outlets felt lazy — as if it didn’t take into account how different this year’s Raptors have looked, or the potential impacts the likes of new impact players like OG Anunoby, Fred VanVleet, Delon Wright, Pascal Siakam, and C.J. Miles could have on re-writing the Raptors story.
But Tuesday’s 113-112 OT loss only fuelled those who maintained that, while the Raptors were a different team in the regular season, in the playoffs versus the Cavs the song would remain the same.
Down the stretch the Raptors lost their mojo. Needless turnovers, a panicky timeout call here, an ill-advised shot attempt there — not to mention eleven (!!!) consecutive missed shots to end the fourth quarter — and it was hard to watch a team that had been so effective throughout the game implode with the game on the line.
Yes, it’s still early, and, to an optimist, Tuesday’s was a winnable game that could have been swung easily. But in the aftermath, those covering the series in Cleveland and abroad aren’t exactly as optimistic about the Raptors chances in the series. For more insight, let’s take a look at how the non-local media are reacting to the Raps’ collapse:
Cleveland.com — Cleveland Cavaliers continue to make the clutch playoff shots Toronto Raptors can’t
Call it the Raptors shrinking in the moment. Call it Cavaliers championship mettle. Label it a mental edge that Cleveland holds over Toronto and the rest of the Eastern Conference. Maybe nerves crept in at the worst possible time for Toronto. Again.
Hey, their coach brought it up.
“I don’t know if it was nerves, or yips, or what,” Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said. “Things that just shot ourselves in the foot. A lot of things we can clean up.”
With the game there for the taking, in the final nine minutes of Tuesday’s game, the Raptors went just 3-of-18 (16.6 percent) from the field and 0-of-5 from 3-point range. They were 3-of-16 (18.7 percent) on shots inside five feet in the fourth quarter.
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ESPN.com — In lieu of moral victory, Cavs claim actual victory in Toronto
“Big Brother is still winning,” begins longtime Cavs beat writer Brian Windhorst. He brings up James’ poor shooting night — although it didn’t stop ‘the King’ from posting a triple-double with 26 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds in 47 minutes of action on the heels of a 45-point performance in game seven versus Indiana two days prior.
“Shots weren’t going in for me,” said James, who missed 18 shots in the game and was 3-of-15 in the fourth quarter and overtime. “It was probably one of my worst games of the season.”
When James is saying things like that, the opposition is usually celebrating a win. But the Raptors, harkening back to darker times from the past few years that they’d spent the season trying to bury, went into a cocoon down the stretch.
They shot just 26 percent in the game’s final 17 minutes, missing a horrific 11 consecutive shots at the end of the fourth quarter. Kyle Lowry (18 points, 10 assists) and DeMar DeRozan (22 points) had decent-looking stat lines, but the Cavs were able to force the ball from their hands when it really mattered.
“Choke job”
Mitch Forbes of The Sporting News joined SN 590 The FAN’s Starting Lineup Wednesday morning to offer his reactions to game one, and opined that the Raptors fourth quarter and OT collapse was perhaps the worst stretch of basketball in franchise history.
Garnett: Game one destroys Raptors’ psyche
On his Area 21 segment on TNT, Kevin Garnett laments that in blowing game one the Raptors not only have effectively given up home court advantage, but also lost the mental battle to the Cavs.
As KG put it, Cleveland created and fuelled doubt on the part of the Raptors, and the future Hall of Fame also saw more worrying signs from Toronto. “Body language is everything,” he said when talking about what he saw from the Raptors’ all-stars at the end of the game. “It’s just game one, but this is a punch to the stomach.”
Garnett, along with Rasheed Wallace, Avery Johnson, and Lakers’ rookie Kyle Kuzma, broke down why the Raptors should be worried:
The crew also had a good laugh at the prospect of Drake trying to get into it with Kendrick freakin’ Perkins:
Cleveland.com — Cleveland Cavaliers send message by winning epic opener
Cleveland Plain-Dealer columnist Terry Pluto recaps a game he says “will trigger migraines and the shakes every time [the Raptors] think about it.” Part of that, he explains, is because of how unthinkable the Cavs win truly was:
Consider that the Raptors were 34-7 at home, best in the East.
When the Raptors led after three quarters at home — as they did in this game — they were 30-1 entering Tuesday.
Or how about this?
The Cavs never led in Game 1 — yet forced an overtime.
And when they outscored Toronto, 8-7, in overtime…LeBron James didn’t score. That’s right: The Cavs won a tight overtime game in which James didn’t score a point in OT!
The Ringer — Stop Us If You’ve Heard This One: The Raptors Melted Down in the Playoffs Again
A self-explanatory headline here that highlights the Chicken Little syndrome from those who expected the Raptors to respond to the late-game pressures differently this time, only to succumb to an all-too familiar fate.
“The Raptors got off to the perfect start,” writes Poalo Uggetti. “They forced LeBron James into tough shots and neutralized the shooters surrounding him. They got scoring from Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan and efficient play from their bench mob. LeBron didn’t get to 20 points until the fourth quarter, and at one point, Toronto led by 14.
But it all crumbled, because that’s what these Raptors do in the face of LeBron.
…Toronto lost the lead in the fourth and looked visibly shook in crunch time, ultimately getting called for a three-second violation and a five-second violation. Jonas Valanciunas totaled 21 points in the game, but he missed six shots at the rim in the final seven minutes of regulation—all of which could have given Toronto a comfortable lead. Instead, the game went down to the wire, and the home team rolled out the red carpet for LeBron to do his thing:
Shaq: DeRozan needs to be more selfish
On Inside the NBA, the crew wanted to see more ownership of the moment from the Raptors all-stars, and, especially with James guarding Kyle Lowry down the stretch, put the onus on DeMar DeRozan to step up his game.
Shaquille O’Neal said he wanted DeRozan to be more selfish and take over the game in overtime. “I understand he’s an unselfish player, and you run plays [that the coach calls]. But at that point, you say ‘forget the plays, I’m the best player. I’m hot. I’m going to win this game for us.'”
“I agree,” Barkley, one of the biggest Raptors’ backers on American television, said. “DeRozan has to go get that ball and make something happen.”
Kenny Smith was cautiously optimistic, citing the obvious matchup advantage that the likes of Jonas Valanciunas had down low and the missed opportunities that could have easily swung game one in the Raps’ direction.
Game two tips off Thursday night at 6 pm ET, a much-needed opportunity for the Raptors to again try to re-write a narrative that just won’t budge.
