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TSN Raptors Reporter

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TORONTO - The Raptors say they are at their best when their backs are against the wall and, unfortunately for them, it won't be long before we find out if they're right.

After dropping the opener of their best-of-seven first-round series with the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, and losing home-court advantage in the process, they're no longer the overwhelming favourites they were going in, at least not statistically.

While Monday's Game 2 is not a must-win in the literal sense, it's just about as close as non-elimination games get. In the history of the NBA playoffs, 31 teams have fallen behind 0-2 at home and only three of them have come back to win the series.

It's time to put up or shut up, but if they're feeling the pressure, they certainly didn't show it following Sunday afternoon's practice. DeMar DeRozan was cracking jokes, Dwane Casey, who was celebrating his 59th birthday, quoted or at least tried to quote Nas - "Sleep is the second cousin to death" - and Kyle Lowry was flexing his biceps, literally.

"My confidence is unshaken," said the all-star point guard, who shot 3-of-13 from the field, 1-of-7 beyond the arc the day prior. "Do I look shaky? I look strong, don't I?"

If they were this relaxed 24 hours earlier, rather than playing with invisible blocks of cement tied to their backs, they might not find themselves in this hole but, for whatever reason, they seem to derive a certain level of comfort from these situations, from having the odds stacked against them.

It's become something of a calling card for this team, whether they're falling behind early in first quarters, mounting late-game comebacks during the regular season or, in this case, throwing away their playoff opener - a three-year Raptors tradition. They're a resilient bunch, sure, but that's mostly because they put themselves in situations where they have to be.

"It’s been like that since I’ve been here," said Patrick Patterson. "Whether it’s going into a situation where we are an underdog or people expect little out of us, all of a sudden we rise to the occasion, we believe in ourselves and we understand as a basketball team the opportunity that we have here with one another."

The Raptors were in the game, even in control until the closing moments of Saturday's 100-90 defeat and they were fortunate it was even that close, given the way they played. Toronto committed 20 turnovers, leading to a quarter of Indiana's points. They missed 12 free throws, allowed Paul George to go off for 27 of his game-high 33 points in the second half and got just 25 combined from Lowry and DeRozan, who shot 25 per cent.

There's a lot to improve on going into Game 2 but, to their credit and unlike last year, this team has shown the ability to correct issues quickly, before they fester into bigger concerns. All season, they've prided themselves on being able to bounce back and overcome adversity, and the results have reflected that. The Raptors have only lost consecutive games three times since Jan. 1, something they did seven times over that span the year prior, leading up to a predictable playoff meltdown. They haven't dropped back-to-back contests at home since early December.

"We have to have the sense of urgency," Casey said. "You get your butt kicked in the first game three years in a row, you want to come out with a sense of urgency, that sense of desperation; we can’t come out cool. That’s the mentality we have to come out with, is a sense of urgency."

Now, whether they like it or not, they're back in a familiar spot. They're the underdogs, a look they feel better suits them, as crazy as that might sound.

"I think that's our nature, our players' DNA," Casey pointed out. "If you look at each of our players, most of them have come from somewhere, from something, from some situation. They didn't start out known as superstars. Myself included, we all have come through struggles and I think we all function better when our backs are against the wall and somebody is hitting us upside the head. I think that's our DNA throughout our team, if you look at our team."

There's certainly some truth to that. You won't find any former, can't-miss phenoms on Toronto's roster - no LeBron James, Kevin Durant or Andrew Wiggins-types. Only two of the Raptors' starters were top-10 picks: Jonas Valanciunas (fifth) and DeRozan (ninth). Most of the team's players have, as their global ambassador says, "started from the bottom". Their leaders, Lowry and DeRozan, are self-made all-stars. Being told they can't or won't accomplish something, in this case win a series, hardly fazes them anymore. They've been hearing it their whole careers.

"I’ve been doubted ever since I’ve been in the league," said DeRozan, the seven-year pro and two-time all-star. "It’s nothing new for me. I don’t mind it at all, because at the end of the day when you overcome it, it’s a better feeling to be able to throw the smack back in somebody’s face who doubted you."

Generally, he and Lowry seem to embrace the hate. They've said they read everything that's written about them, by fans or the media, and use it as motivation but on Sunday, they both took a different approach. Neither player has been on social media since losing Game 1, or so they say. DeRozan even deleted the apps on his phone to avoid distraction.

"I just didn’t want to," Lowry said. "I just didn’t feel like it. I’ll read it, trust me, I’ll read 'em. I’ll go back and I’ll keep scrolling and scrolling. I’m not shying away from it. It’s just at that point where it’s like alright, whatever. I know what everybody’s going to say: ‘Here we go again.’"

He's not wrong. The fan base is anxious and it's hard to blame them. They've seen this movie before and it doesn't end well. For all the talk about how different this team is from the one that got swept in the playoffs last year, there was justifiable deja vu at the Air Canada Centre Saturday afternoon. Again, the Raptors looked like a team overwhelmed by the moment.

Now it's up to them to prove they're not. The ball's in their court, so to speak, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

"You're fighting for your life," DeRozan said. "If you were drowning in water, you're going to [find] something to hold onto or float on, right? So you kind of have that natural instinct when you're a competitor. That's the beauty of the game, when things get rough, you kind of find enjoyment in trying to overcome it. That's the great thing about basketball."

The natural follow-up question: Are the Raptors drowning?

"No," he said calmly. "We're in a puddle right now. A little puddle. We got some new shoes on, they got a little wet, that’s all."

This series is not over, far from it in fact, but that puddle can turn into an ocean pretty quickly if the Raptors don't take care of business on Monday.

What are they really made of? We'll find out in short order.