The Toronto Raptors are back in action Monday as they look to even up their first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers before the action shifts north of the border.
The fifth-seeded Raptors dropped their playoff opener 126-113 on Saturday, their 11th straight loss to Cleveland in the postseason, but now head into Game 2 with a better idea of what they need to improve on as the series continues.
“We had long conversations last night, this morning, about what potential adjustments need to be,” said Toronto head coach Darko Rajakovic ahead of Game 2. “What do we need to clean up? What do we need to do better?
“There is a lot of those things. That’s very, very exciting, because there is a lot of room for us to grow.”
One of the adjustments Rajakovic eluded to following Game 1 was to get Brandon Ingram more involved in the flow of the offence after Toronto’s leading scorer managed 17 points on just nine field goal attempts in the series opener - including just one in the second half - despite playing a team-high 36 minutes on Saturday.
How does the All-Star believe he can rebound from a disappointing performance to begin the playoffs?
“Just be more aggressive,” Ingram said after practice on Sunday. “Have some connection with my teammates on where I want the basketball. Also having our guys still be aggressive. Catch and shooting open shots, driving to the lanes, looking for kick-outs, getting all the way to the rim. I’ll find my offence.”
“We watched a lot of film yesterday,” said Jamal Shead, who scored 17 points across 28 minutes in his playoff debut on Saturday. “We looked at how they were guarding [Ingram], when they were doing it, and how we could attack it.”
“That won’t happen again”, he said of Ingram’s nine field goal attempts.
Shead got the start in Game 1 in place of Immanuel Quickley, who was unavailable due to a right hamstring strain suffered in Toronto’s regular season opener season finale.
Quickley is currently listed as questionable for Game 2, and would provide a big boost in to spacing and facilitating in Rajakovic’s offence if he were to return on Monday night.
“We missed Quickley big time with the way he gets us organized and his shooting helps our team out,” Toronto’s head coach said. ”I like Jamal’s defence and what we need on the court. We wanted to have multiple ball handlers on the floor with Jamal.”
While the Raptors appear to have adjustments in place to kickstart their offence in Game 2, they will also have to make some changes on defence if they are to contain Cleveland’s star backcourt duo of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.
Mitchell and Harden combined for 54 points and 14 assists in their Game 1 victory, and will no doubt be the focal point of the Cavaliers offence once again as they look to defend home court advantage before heading out onto the road.
Scottie Barnes, Toronto’s All-NBA defender, switched onto Harden in the fourth quarter with the game already out of hand, but the two-time All-Star could see more time defending one of Cleveland’s primary ball handlers from Game 2 and on.
One of the lone bright spots for Toronto in Game 1 was rookie Collin Murray-Boyles, who excelled in his playoff debut with 14 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists while standing out on the defensive side of the ball.
Murray-Boyles could be in line for an expanded role for the remainder of the series as one of the more mobile defenders on the team capable of thwarting Harden and Mitchell in the pick and roll.
“[Cleveland] is a really, really good team,” Murray-Boyles said after the series-opening loss on Saturday. “They have great pieces all around. And, obviously, the head of the snake… I don’t even know who the head of the snake is for this team sometimes. But I think we kind of got away from our brand of basketball, and we couldn’t really get it back in time.
“Everything takes a step up – physicality, attention to detail. Literally everything has to be elevated just to stay on the floor… We have a lot to learn from, for sure.”
Toronto is seeking their first playoff series victory since defeating the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the 2020 playoffs.
