FVV doesn’t believe in Game 1 curses

Let’s go ahead and make that two consecutive Game 1 victories for the defending champs (the 2019 Finals and this W over Brooklyn). After beating the Nets in Game 1 (134–110), the Raptors have officially begun defending that crown.

This whole season has pretty much been a victory lap and a Raptors fan fever dream. The team’s championship swagger is off the charts; our championship swagger as fans is off the charts. But now we begin the unthinkable: winning a title without the services of Kawhi Leonard. This team, and fanbase, seems up for the challenge.

Look, I don’t care if it’s the depleted Nets, our Game 1 curse can now be put to rest — primarily thanks to our championship DNA and especially thanks to Fred VanVleet who is personally coming for all the Finals MVP votes.

Let’s not waste any more time and get right into it with our customary 4 things we liked and 1 thing we disliked from our Game 1 victory over the lowly Nets. We are in a celebratory mood so let’s get the dislike out of the way early.

DISLIKE — Something More

I think it’s safe to say that Siakam hasn’t exactly lit the basketball world on fire since play resumed in the Disney bubble. During the seeding games (we are only counting the first five seeding games because they are the only ones that mattered; if you arrived at any conclusions based off of the final three seeding games, then shame on you — you should know better), Siakam put up 17.8 points on 41.9% overall shooting. Not bad. If this were last season, we would’ve been happy with those numbers.

But this isn’t last season. We want the Siakam who burst into the NBA hierarchy by putting up 22.9 points on 45.3% shooting. We want the Siakam who became an All-Star starter. We want the Siakam who’s going to be on an All-NBA team. That Siakam hasn’t showed up yet — and we need that version of Spicy P if our championship dreams are to become a reality.

It’s fine to work off the rust or adjust to the defensive attention that a superstar like Siakam demands during the seeding games and, dare I say, even against Brooklyn. But starting in the next round, the road gets much tougher and we’re going to need Pascal Siakam to be Pascal Siakam (and not the 2018/2019 version of himself).

In Game 1, his “struggles” continued as he scored 18 points on 4-for-13 shooting (1-for-4 from downtown). The good news is that he was active on the glass (11 boards) and perfect from the charity stripe (he hit all 9 of his free throws). But we’re still waiting for that 30+ or 40+ scoring outburst.

LIKE #1 — Frederico

If anyone is deserving of a playoff nickname, it’s got to be Fred VanVleet right? Just a friendly reminder that during the final 9 games of our 2019 title run, FVV turned into a living breathing flame of fire as he scorched nets with his 51.1% overall shooting and his 52.6% three-point marksmanship.

Well, it’s playoff time again which means the reappearance of Frederico!

The last time we saw Frederico, he was tormenting Steph Curry and the Warriors in Game 6 of the Finals. The dude set his playoff career high on that faithful June 13th night with 22 points. Flash-forward to the afternoon of August 17th, 2020, and FVV matched his playoff career high…just 5 minutes into the third quarter of Game 1 versus the Nets. FVV also connected on his first four attempts from long-range on his way to another career postseason performance.

Frederico finished with 30 points on an eye-popping 11-for-15 shooting including going supernova from long-range (8-for-10!!!). He also had 11 dimes, 2 boards, 2 steals, a block, and just 1 measly turnover.

So much of our offense is VanVleet getting past the first line of defense, then kicking the ball out, and the ball swinging to the open man — all due to FVV’s relentless dribble-drive game. It also seems like FVV has been the conductor of the offense lately more-so than Lowry. Perhaps a very slight passing of the torch moment? Something to keep an eye on.

Now, I’m going to say something that you might find a little odd. I’ve warned you. Are you ready? Okay, here it goes. There exists a small segment of Raptors fans who think FVV doesn’t deserve the bag when he hits unrestricted free agency this offseason. Look, I told you it’s a little odd. You were warned. FVV was our best player during the seeding games and was hands-down the best player during Game 1. He put us on his back and that, my friends, can’t be replaced.

I am baffled why some think he’s not worth the money he is going to get. If he leaves in free agency, who exactly is replacing him? Without FVV doing what he did in the 2019 Conference Finals and then in the NBA Finals, we don’t win the title. If you think Terence Davis could replace what FVV brings to this team, then, I’m sorry to say, you haven’t been watching.

LIKE #2 — Making Him Work

You know who played very well during the seeding games? That’s right, Caris LeVert. He put up 25.0 points per game on 48.0% shooting on his way to All-Bubble Second Team honours.

But you know who hasn’t felt the defensive wrath of OG Anunoby and the Toronto Raptors during the Disney bubble? That’s right, Caris LeVert.

The Raptors, and OG (his primary defender), were picking LeVert up as soon as he crossed half-court; our guards were pressuring him all game long. It was a thing of beauty.

Essentially, our defense humbled LeVert in Game 1. He put up 10 less points (15) and shot 12.3 (35.7) percentage points worse than what he averaged in the seeding games. Yowsa!

Welcome to OG Penitentiary, Caris. Hope you enjoy your stay (don’t worry, it’ll be a short one).

LIKE #3 — Bench Production

Every game we’re going to need someone from the bench to step-up. In Game 1, that was Serge Ibaka. He had a pep-in-his-step like it was Game 7 versus Philly all over again. Ibaka dropped 22 points in 26 minutes on 8-for-14 shooting to go along with 7 boards, 3 dimes, 2 triples, 1 block, and was a bench-high +17.

After struggling through the seeding games, where he was putting up just 8.8 points on 42.6% and 25% shooting splits, it was good to see Ibaka get going in the first game of the playoffs.

Here are some other random thoughts on our bench production from Game 1.

• Norm got hit in the groin and then on the next possession drilled a triple. Perhaps the groin kick awakened Playoff Norm?
• RHJ brought some much-needed energy off the bench in his 12 minutes. He’s the ultimate wild card (I mean this in a good way). He crashed the boards for 2 offensive rebounds, had 4 free throws and drilled them all. He finished with 6 points and threw in a block for good measure.
• TD2 provided us an offensive spark late in the third quarter as he drilled a huge triple just as the Nets cut it to 8. He was 3-for-4, hit both his threes, and gave us 11 points off the bench.
• Matt Thomas got some run in the first half but the Nets targeted him on the offensive end. Thomas didn’t provide any offensive punch by going scoreless. This is the series to see if Thomas can earn any postseason minutes. The Nets aren’t going to beat us 4 times in 7 games so it’s kind of an extended run before the real competition comes in the second round.

LIKE #4 — Three-Ball

We all know the Raptors have had the best team defense in the bubble — and it’s in large part thanks to our opponent three-point shooting defense.

During the eight seeding games, we limited the opposing team to 33.4% shooting from beyond the arc. A slight improvement on our league leading 33.7% mark. In Game 1, this trend continued as we held the Nets’ three-ball in check as they connected on just 31.0% of their triples.

On the other end, the good guys have been quite the marksmen from long-range in the Disney bubble. During our eight seeding games, we connected on 39.1% of our long-range attempts (which would be tops in the Association — and an improvement on our 37.6% mark for the season, which ranks fifth).

If we keep hitting our threes at this rate while limiting our opponent makes, then I see a lengthy playoff run coming our way.

Until next time…

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