By The Numbers: Warriors dominant at home in playoffs

Every team feels more comfortable at home – especially in the postseason.

But with the Golden State Warriors, it’s a whole other level of comfort. With the series even at one game apiece, the Toronto Raptors will have their work cut out for them as they look to jump back on top in the series. Here’s why:

The Warriors have been practically unstoppable at home in the playoffs. And this isn’t a new trend, either.

Golden State has a record of 45-8 – a winning percentage of .849 – at home over the last five years. They are 6-2 this year and have won five in a row following two first-round losses to the Los Angeles Clippers. Last season they were 10-1 and the season before that they went 9-0. Both years ended in championships. The numbers are just as lopsided as their record.

Over that five-year span on home court, Golden State is outscoring opponents by almost 12 points per game and outshooting them by more than five percentage points from the field compared to four percentage points from beyond the arc. They’re also outrebounding their opponents by a significant margin.

On the flip side, the Raptors have had their struggles on the road during these playoffs. While their record sits at a respectable 4-4, they’re 2-4 over their last six games. Toronto is outscored by an average of three points a night away from home and trails opponents in field goal percentage, three-point percentage and rebounding. In total, Toronto is plus-125 at home and minus-24 on the road. That’s not the best combination considering the Warriors’ dominance at Oracle Arena.

On an individual level, Kawhi Leonard (31.0 to 26.7) is the only core Raptors player whose road scoring average in the playoffs eclipses his regular season total. Pascal Siakam (16.6 to 16.9), Kyle Lowry (14.6 to 16.1), Danny Green (8.4 to 10.4), Norman Powell (7.9 to 8.6), Serge Ibaka (7.8 to 16.1), Marc Gasol (6.6 to 7.8) and Fred VanVleet (5.4 to 12.2) all are seeing drop-offs this spring, some of them significant.

One way for the Raptors to buck the trend and pick up a win in Game 3 is to solve the DeMarcus Cousins problem.

Cousins barely played at all in the opener considering it was his first game-action since tearing his quad in the first round. He finished with three points in just over eight minutes of action and wasn’t much of a factor on the defensive end. Things were totally different in Game 2.

Cousins played 27:38 and tallied 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. He was a big reason why the Warriors took Game 2 but his biggest impact may have been on the defensive end.

According to Second Spectrum, the Raptors had the same number of drives in Game 2 as they did in Game 1 with 48. They shot 11-of-24 (46 per cent) in the opener but went just 6-of-23 (26 per cent) Sunday night. With increased playing time, Cousins was the help defender on 12 of those drives and the Raptors scored zero points. Considering Golden State took Game 2 by just five points, Cousins’ impact was enormous.

With two games under his belt and centre Kevon Looney out indefinitely, don’t be surprised if the Warriors lean heavily on Cousins the rest of the way.

Other notes

- Kevin Durant, officially ruled out for Game 3 with a calf strain, is the sixth player to miss an NBA Finals game after leading his team in scoring during the regular season, joining James Worthy (1991), Magic Johnson (1989), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1980), Willis Reed (1970) and Bob Feerick (1949).

- Andre Iguodala’s clutch three-pointer to put the Warriors up five at the end of Game 2 was the only basket the team made in the final 5:30 of the game.

- The Raptors won second-chance points 23-0 Sunday night, fast break points 18-13, points in the paint 44-36 and points off three throws 23-30, yet still lost the game 109-104.

- The Warriors have now won a road game in 23 straight postseason series, the longest streak in NBA playoff history.