Raptors better brace for Warriors pushback
Toronto didn’t let moment overwhelm them in Game 1, but it only gets harder from here
Sometimes the moment can get too big.
Even professional athletes can lose themselves in a production as big as the NBA Finals when going through it for the first time.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr is at his fifth consecutive finals. He knows more than most the control a team gives up when they get there.
The practices, the availabilities, pretty much their daily existence is controlled by the NBA once you qualify for the finals. And as Kerr noted going into Game 1, it can totally mess up an established routine.
The Raptors have some experience in this regard. Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, Serge Ibaka and even Patrick McCaw have been to this level before, three of those guys more than once, but it’s new for the rest of the roster.
The Raptors do not get that Game 1 victory if first-timers to an NBA Finals like Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet aren’t able to shut out the noise and the distractions and the loss of routine and just focus on the task at hand.
“Early on it (felt different) and then it wears off and it’s a regular basketball game,” VanVleet said. “Couple of possessions up and down the court, watching the guys go out and set the tone so you can feel the energy in the building, then you get out there, make a couple of plays and make a couple of shots and it’s right back to a regular-season game: stay locked in and don’t get too caught up in the moment.”
Nick Nurse, the Raptors’ head coach and the guy who is, at least by title, supposed to be there to lend some guidance in this department is, like a number of his players, going through this for the first time.
Nurse said the lead-up to this point has provided enough similar situations that there was some confidence going in that they could all handle it. That, along with the already finals-experienced players on his team, were enough to get the Raptors over this hump.
“It seemed like going to Game 1 at Milwaukee we were really wondering how we were going to handle the emotional high from just two nights earlier, that buzzer-beater (over the Philadelphia 76ers) to win the series,” Nurse said. “And I think you talk about how fortunate we are to have a bunch of guys that have played deep: some guys that have won it all, some guys that have played really deep. Ibaka, Gasol, Green, Leonard.
“And then you’re saying, well, what are these other guys going to do that haven’t been here before?” Nurse said. “They did a good job, right? They played. They went for it. They played fearlessly, right? They attacked. And that’s what they needed to do.”
Now the degree of difficulty only gets higher. The Raptors have proved they can handle the moment. Now they have to handle the pushback from the Warriors — and don’t kid yourself, it’s coming.
It’s been a while since the Warriors were down after a Game 1 in a series, but they have been here before and they know how to react.
Nurse is well aware of this, so he doubled down on the film study with his team yesterday and focused on what they could do better.
“We know that after a win the team that gets beat gets really determined,” Nurse said. “They try to fix things. They mostly play a lot harder and more physical and all those kind of things. And for us, we just had a lengthy, lengthy film session. There was plenty on there that we need to do better if we want to win another game in this series.”
And within that statement is probably the best reason the Raptors’ fan base can have confidence that this David-versusGoliath matchup is really David versus Goliath in name only.
The Warriors have the pedigree, they have the resume. They are Goliath. But what the Raptors have is an approach that ensures they aren’t beat before they take the court.
Reputation and resume are only an advantage if you let it be an advantage.
“We’re not (overwhelmed) just to be here,” VanVleet said in a quiet moment after Game 1. “We want to win this thing. We’re not content. It’s a big deal. We know that. We’re not taking it for granted by any stretch. But at the same time we will celebrate when we get it done.”
That kind of quiet confidence is what the Raptors have to offset all the “been there, done that” bravado the Warriors have and, quite frankly, have earned.
It’s up to the Raptors to take this from the Warriors and through one game they have given no indication they will shy from that charge.
We know that after a win the team that gets beat gets really determined. They try to fix things. They mostly play a lot harder and more physical and all those kind of things.