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TSN Basketball Analyst

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Jack Armstrong returns with his thoughts on Game 1 of the NBA Finals about Pascal Siakam's breakout, an assertive Marc Gasol, the returning DeMarcus Cousins and more.

1. PASCAL SIAKAM (Raptors):  Siakam was absolutely brilliant in Game 1 versus the Warriors, finishing his stellar finals debut with 32 points, eight rebounds and five assists. It will be interesting to see how Golden State responds to guarding him going forward. Remember when Philadelphia switched Joel Embiid onto him in Game 2 of the East semis? They played way off of Siakam and dared him to shoot. He strikes me as a guy who keeps learning and improving. That’s positive growth. Siakam is maturing into a player who has positive counters to everything the opposition throws at him.    

2. MARC GASOL (Raptors): The veteran centre was super assertive and confident in Game 1 with 20 points and seven rebounds. The Warriors played way off of him, choosing to give lots of help on Kawhi Leonard. If Gasol continues to produce like he did, it greatly opens up Toronto’s offensive options.    

3. TURNOVER MARGIN: Raptors win this category 16-10 and score 24 fast break points. When you play the Warriors you’ve got to keep them out if transition and make them play half court while taking advantage yourself of running chances before there Defence sets up. It’s a big area to keep an eye on.

4. DEMARCUS COUSINS (Warriors): Warriors coach Steve Kerr is in a tough spot. Cousins is clearly just gradually working his way back into shape and a step slow catching up, which is completely understandable. The challenge is that this is the NBA Finals, where even eight minutes breaking a guy slowly back in could be a detriment to your team. Obviously he’s a big-time talent. The decision for Golden State is how you balance reinserting him into the mix while maintaining what you’ve built.

5. WARRIORS SECOND-CHANCE POINTS: An area that the Raptors need to clean up is defensive rebounding and winning 50/50 balls. Toronto gave up 20 second-chance points on nine offensive rebounds in Game 1. This area improved as the game went on. Golden State is constantly and wisely looking for threes off of these scenarios because the defence isn’t set and you get excellent looks.