Raptors' playoff woes continue
TORONTO -- With Saturday's loss to the Indiana Pacers, it has been nearly 15 years since the Toronto Raptors earned a Game 1 victory to open a NBA playoff series.
It was supposed to be different this year. The Raptors had been good all season, earning a No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, even challenging the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot at times.
But Pacers All-Star guard Paul George did his part to keep the Raptors woeful streak in tact. His 33 points led Indiana to a 100-90 win and now the Raptors have lost five consecutive Game 1s. This goes back to the 2001 playoffs, and overall have suffered seven consecutive playoff losses spanning the past three post-seasons.
"I don't listen to the noise and I hope our guys don't listen to the noise," Raptors coach Dwane Casey told reporters following the loss. "It's a long series. It's one of those things where I think our guys were so tight (on the court). It was the Indiana Pacers and the moment of the playoffs that got us tonight. It has nothing to do with the previous games."
The credit for even keeping the action close throughout the 48-minute game goes to the Raptors' role players. The likes of center Jonas Valanciunas and backup point guard Corey Joseph helped keep it competitive.
All-Star players Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan were simply not effective or productive. The backcourt pair combined for 25 points on an ugly 8-for-32 shooting clip.
Both players acknowledged their individually disappointing play, as well as that of the team collectively, but preached confidence moving forward in terms of avoiding similar performances through the rest of the series.
"We understand we just had a bad game," DeRozan said. "We shot 38%, we turned the ball over, and we missed 12 free throws. Take that away, right there. We got to play better. … I'm pretty sure we not going to shoot 38 percent again, we not going to turn the ball over 19 times.
"We not panicking, we played bad, we played terrible at home and we understand we got to go on the road and get one. We play extremely well on the road."
The aura surrounding the Raptors continues to be that the team is among the best in the NBA when it comes to regular season play. When the playoffs arrive, though, the team falters over and over.
Casey, nor DeRozan and Lowry say they don't buy into that theory, though. Casey reiterated that one game and loss doesn't decide the series, and the Raptors will have the chance to silence naysayers with a victory in Game 2 on Monday.
"It's a long series, and I know the percentages and the numbers and all that bullcrap, but it's a long series," Casey said. "I know our team today, we didn't play to our identity. I know we'll come back Monday night and play more to our identity."