NBA Finals: Game 1 Breakdown
Game 1 in the books. The Toronto Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors 118 - 109.
Well, let’s not dance around the pregame hype and what not the game is in the books already. This is a game breakdown after all (at least how I saw it) so let’s just jump right into it, shall we?
The first quarter I knew from the beginning it was going to be a tone setter. If the Splash Brothers could get started early it was going to be trouble for the Raptors. But if the Raptors could get the pace in their favor and utilize their depth at big men it would pay off. Well, the Raptors did it. They played a very physical game mainly on the offensive end in particular in the paint to take advantage of that size but it did not start that way. In the first quarter in fact, the Raptors made five wide open 3-pointers. They struggled to get Kawhi Leonard going offensively with the Warriors double teaming him with every possession he had. This allowed Marc Gasol (two 3’s made) and Danny Green (one 3 made) to get wide open looks from behind the arc.
I found the defensive scheme from Steve Kerr against Kawhi to be a good one. Play Andre Iguodala on him but when he tries to switch have Klay Thompson and Draymond in the wings come to help with a double team. Either way he switched one of them would be there to help out forcing Kawhi to try and hit a tough shot or pass the ball. Which ended up working except Gasol and Green couldn’t miss from 3, or at least it felt like that. So though it worked for defending Kawhi, it proved unsuccessful in defending the Raptors offense as a whole. Those 3’s really affected the pace of the game also and you could tell the Warriors kept trying to control the pace of the game early. They attempted to score on transition a lot but the focus on Kawhi defensively and the wide open 3 pointers made it difficult to maintain that. Especially with the inconsistency on offense.
One move I really did not like was to put Jordan Bell in the starting lineup. I personally, think Kevon Looney has earned that spot and taking him out could disrupt the flow of the team. I get it though. Bell is bigger and Steve Kerr was clearly worried about the big men the Raptors have (Gasol, Siakam, Ibaka and Kawhi) imposing themselves on this smaller lineup but as soon as Looney came in the game (about 5 minutes into the 1st quarter) he made an immediate impact on the defensive and offensive end. Also, I noticed that Kerr wanted to begin the game with Stephen Curry playing off ball. Not sure if this was for him to try to find space and create shots early but it proved successful because he made 3 - 6 from the 3 point line. Unfortunately though the rest of the team could not find a rhythm offensively. They began the game running the ball through Draymond and Iggy but it seemed that Kerr abandoned that in the last 4 minutes of the game. In fact, I noticed him stand up and yell something from the bench at Draymond (who was bringing the ball up) and he immediately Draymond passed the ball to Steph. I assume that was because Draymond and Iggy couldn’t get the offense going so Steph had to take over to try and help the others create shots.
The Splash Brothers this entire first half were forcing shots which was fine at first but when Klay couldn’t make a 3 pointer it put a lot of pressure on Steph to keep them in the game. Also I noticed that with Klay not making shots and Steph was constantly trying to find a rhythm for the offense. This forced Draymond, Iggy, Looney and Shaun Livingston to hustle around a lot to try and create something. You could tell that the Warriors really had to fight for the team’s 21 points in the first quarter. Somehow they were able to stay in the game but the Raptors dominated this quarter. At the beginning of the 2nd quarter the Raptors continued to get great minutes out of their key bench guys Fred Van Vleet, Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell. Especially Van Vleet with 5 points and 2 assists and Ibaka with 4 points and 2 big possession offensive rebounds. This was necessary from the second unit guys because Kawhi continued to struggle against the trap the Warriors put on him. With I must say a very impressive game defensively from Shaun Livingston who guarded Kawhi when Iggy was sitting. I found that move to be interesting by Kerr instead of having Klay guard him but I think the main reason is Livingston’s wingspan (Klay 6’9”, Livingston 6’11”) and quickness. He didn’t want Kawhi to use his size against Klay and if Kawhi tried to over power Livingston with his size Livingston would have help from the double team.
Draymond, Klay and Looney did an excellent job crashing the offensive glass to get those offensive rebounds in the 2nd quarter. That helped them to come back and take a short lived lead in the beginning of the quarter. I think Kerr noticed no one could get their jump shot going so he wanted the extra guys to crash the glass to try and get those extra points off the misses. Also, the Raptors big men were playing really spread out on defense so it was a good opportunity to take advantage of. Both Kawhi and Draymond start to get into foul trouble and that’s when the Raptors really started to enforce their physicality on the game. They knew Draymond could not afford to go into the locker room at halftime with 4 fouls and that’s when Siakam really thrived. He lead the Raptors in points this quarter with 7, all of them from the field. He also started to get a lot of help from Gasol again, who had 6 points in this quarter. This puts the Raptors up at the end of the 2nd half 59 - 49.
Coming in to the 2nd half the Raptors really worked to continue to control the pace of the game and they succeeded. The Warriors just could not get going offensively and a big part of that was Siakam sinking some big shots early to widen the lead. The Warriors tried to make a comeback with very good ball movement but they would continue to take bad shots that were forced. They physically could not compete with the Raptors and this put the Splash Brothers in bad position to force shots. Andre with 2 wide open looks from 3 point line both missed early, Draymond was 1 - 4 from the field and Steph missed a tough contested 3 pointer early. They just could not get the rhythm.
The Warriors manage to claw back and stay in the game thanks to some much better defensive play from Draymond, Livingston and Looney. Also the Warriors were perfect from the free throw line going 22 -22 in this game up to this point. That is a huge help considering how bad they have been from the field so far. Kawhi still couldn’t get going thanks to a successful trap continued from Livingston, Iggy, Draymond and Klay. But this allowed Siakam to continue to dominate with some great help from Gasol. Kawhi did have 10 points in this quarter. Gasol really had to work for all those points where Siakam had 14 points on some very good looks.
In the final stretch coming into the 4th quarter I thought it was a good move to bring in Demarcus Cousins to see if he could get the offense going. Kerr had to try something because no one was helping Steph on the offensive end. Boogie unfortunately could not do much so Kerr brings Looney back in. The second unit for the Warriors make a good run and begin the 4th quarter to cut the lead a little but when the starters came back in they continue to struggle. Steph kept trying to carry the offense on his back but with not much success. By the middle of the 4th you can tell Steph was frustrated by his teammates and tries to take the game in his own hands. He took as many shots as he could on what felt like every offensive series but he couldn’t hit from 3. One thing that always make the Warriors dangerous, regardless of the deficit, is that if the Splash Brothers can hit three or four 3 pointers it brings them back in it the game but Steph and Klay just could not make anything to save their life. On top of that it appeared toward the end of the game that Iggy sustained another injury. This is not good going forward for the Warriors.
On the opposite end it continues to be the depth that the Raptors have that pays off for them. Kyle Lowry gets into foul trouble early and but he had been struggling all game so this did not seem to impact them that much. Danny Green sinks a major 3 pointer after a successful Warriors defensive run which gets the Raptors going again. They also continue to dominate the pace of the game and score a lot of points off the fast break. This puts the Warriors on their heels a big and then Van Vleet hits a HUGE 3 pointer that bounces around the rim which basically puts the dagger in the heart of the Warriors. The Raptors end the game with great ball movement to run the clock down on the offensive end. There were a few questionable calls against the Warriors that benefited the Raptors in the last four minutes of the game but they weren’t enough to impact the final score. The Raptors all in all controlled this game from start to finish and it showed with their 118 - 109 win.
What the Warriors Need Moving Forward
The Warriors just need to be more physical. It’s that plain and simple. Mainly on the offensive end from the bigs. Steph and Klay need to find better shots and they can’t do that if the big men aren’t moving around and setting screens for them. Also, on the defensive end. Draymond, Looney and Cousins need to play more physical with the Raptors big men. Siakam and Gasol can’t get this many open looks and they need to position themselves to force their physicality on Siakam and Gasol to have to take tough shots. One thing that I think worked very well was the defense on Kawhi Leonard. The trap and double team continued to work. The people Kerr put on Kawhi (Iggy and Livingston) played great defensive games against him. But it’s the other guys the Warriors need to worry about too. Also, and this is very big especially if Kevin Durant is still out, they need to hope that Andre Iguodala is healthy. He is a key player in this series in terms of defending Kawhi.
What the Raptors Need Moving Forward
Nothing. They played a great game on both ends. If Kawhi gets going it will be huge for them but it’s not necessary if they continue to do what they did in game 1. They need to continue to control the pace of the game, take advantage of the fast break points, play a physical game but spread the floor to allow your role players to step up on offense, and take advantage of the Warriors mistakes. I give a lot of credit to Nick Nurse in this game he put together a GREAT game plan and the team executed it perfect.
Game 2 on Sunday. Let’s see if the Raptors continue their dominance or if the Warriors can bounce back and take the momentum going into the home game stand for game 3 and 4.