Raptors-Magic Round 1 Preview
This is going to be a crazy couple of weeks for me. I love my job, but around this time of the year, I probably love it a bit less.
The playoffs for both the NHL and the NBA are underway, plus baseball. The Masters is this week. A man can only have so much time to digest all that. And it doesn't really matter if my Toronto teams are in these playoffs, though it certainly doesn't hurt.
If there is one super power that I can have, it's the ability to go on without sleeping.
This year, things are a bit complicated. Both the Leafs and the Raptors are carrying high expectations into the postseason and they're both hoping to go deep. I think I should just take a leave over the next month or so, depending on how far these boys go in the postseason.
For both the Raptors and the Leafs, I haven't really looked at their first round schedules beyond the first four games (I'll cross that bridge when I get there). And over those first four, only once do they play on the same day.
And that will be Sunday morning on my end. Unfortunately, my family is going on a two-day trip this Saturday (okay, I really shouldn't call this unfortunate, but I can't help myself), about a couple of hours away from Seoul, and we'll be staying overnight before returning home Sunday afternoon. I'll have to scramble to watch the Raptors tip off for Game 1 at 6 a.m. and then the Leafs in Game 2 starting at 9 a.m. Man, without this trip, these starting times would have worked out perfectly for me.
My wife works three Saturdays a month and she gets one Saturday off (If there are five Saturdays in a month, like in August and November this year, she'll get two Saturdays off. I have no idea why I am telling you this). Anyway, when we're both off on the same Saturday when/if the weather cooperates, we like to take our kids out for a short trip to different parts of the country. It's always nice to get out into the nature once in a while, though I'd prefer to do it after my Toronto teams are done playing in the playoffs. Any time between June and September works for me.
I obviously didn't have the courage to tell my wife (yet) about these playoff games and ask to reschedule the trip. She doesn't often get to pick the Saturday of her choice; she just ends up with whichever Saturday is left open after her co-workers make their move. And she'd planned this trip long before the playoff schedules were out. If I told her I didn't want to go because I had to watch my Toronto teams, well, I'd never be able to watch sports in her presence again for the rest of my life. I just hope she won't mind my watching Sunday morning games. Hey, the forecast calls for rain Sunday. So we should all just stay indoors and root for the Toronto teams!
After the Raptors' Game 1 Sunday morning, there won't be another overlap until the Leafs' potential Game 5 on April 20 my time, when the Raptors will be in Game 3.
Alas, just found out Games 3-5 in the Raptors series will be on the same day as Games 5-7 in the Leafs series. But that's as far as I'll go now. My head's hurting.
Anyhoo, the Raptors, as the No. 2 seed in the East, will take on the Magic in the first round. I was kinda wary about the Nets and maybe even the Pistons. The Magic, too, have been annoying because 1) they split the season series with us and 2) the two wins that they had were by an average 22 points. Those two losses for me were two of the ugliest defeats we suffered during the regular season, and not just because of the lopsided scores.
Of course, we didn't have Kyle or Kawhi in each of those games, so we can safely assume that things will be different with a full lineup on our end.
Let's dig in.
Matchup Issues
I think the reason why the Magic handled us so well is that they have some long and big bodies that match up well against our front court. Vucevic is a versatile center who can score from anywhere on the floor. Jonathan Isaac is a lanky, 6-foot-10 forward who gave Pascal fits this season. Siakam had the lower scoring average against the Magic than any other opponent this regular season (about 8 ppg). Aaron Gordon, at 6-9, has capitalized on his impressive athleticism to emerge as a strong defender in his own right. He did some fine work on Kawhi in one of the earlier meetings this season.
Serge will have trouble handling Vucevic down low, and Gasol, too, will have his hands full.
But Coach Nurse has been creative with his lineups all season (sometimes not by choice). If they throw Vucevic, Isaac and Gordon at us, well, we can either counter with a super big lineup of Gasol, Serge, Pascal, OG and Kawhi. Or we can go super small with Siakam at the five, joined by Kawhi, Danny G, Kyle and FVV.
Either way, low-post D and rebounding will likely be a problem for us. On the offensive end, though, I love the way we've been moving the ball so well over the last quarter or so of the season, since Gasol's arrival. And better ball movement has led to higher 3-point shooting percentage. Somewhere over 40 percent since February.
Plus, I like our secondary options. They have T. Ross, a former Raptor who could be fired up against his old team (though a fellow Raptors fan, who also happens to be my colleague, told me he has never seen Ross fired up for anything) and who averaged more than 15 ppg in just about 26 minutes off the bench, but that's really about it.
We have either Gasol or Serge as the first big off the bench, plus Fred and Norm, who has been coming on strong of late and who, as long as he doesn't try to do too much, can be a really useful weapon. After that, OG can be the ninth guy but if we need some shooting right away, who's to say Jodie Meeks, with his 44 percent shooting from downtown, won't get an opportunity? I've lost faith in Jeremy Lin but Nurse may choose to lean on him in stretches.
Nurse has thrown out so many different lineups that I don't think he'll ever panic. Familiarity/chemistry may be an issue but I think we can afford to keep experimenting against this Magic team.
Winning the 1st Game
Incredibly, we didn't win the first game of any playoff series until beating the Wizards in the first round last year. We'd held home court in some earlier series as well, so it's just hard to imagine we hadn't managed to win that ever-important Game 1 until 2018.
I don't know the exact figure in terms of how many Game 1 winners go through to the next round and that kind of stuff. But I'd imagine it's fairly high. Hardly anything is more deflating for a favored club than dropping the first game of a playoff series at home (I am looking at you, Tampa Bay Lightning!)
If the Leafs were hosting the Bruins to open their series, I'd be a bit more worried. But with the Magic, not so much.
I can't wait to see the Playoff Kawhi for the first time in a Raptors uniform. And I'll try not to let myself get distracted with thoughts like, "Is this going to be Kawhi's last game in Toronto?" or "Is he going to stay with us?"
Prediction
If you haven't noticed, yes, I think the Raptors will take the series, in 6 games. For some reasons stated above, I can totally see the Magic steal a couple of games, maybe.
But over a seven-game series, I don't think they have enough to beat us. With a few days off in between some early games, we should have Kawhi available throughout. The Magic can use their size up front but we'll have plenty of other weapons.
The playoffs for both the NHL and the NBA are underway, plus baseball. The Masters is this week. A man can only have so much time to digest all that. And it doesn't really matter if my Toronto teams are in these playoffs, though it certainly doesn't hurt.
If there is one super power that I can have, it's the ability to go on without sleeping.
This year, things are a bit complicated. Both the Leafs and the Raptors are carrying high expectations into the postseason and they're both hoping to go deep. I think I should just take a leave over the next month or so, depending on how far these boys go in the postseason.
For both the Raptors and the Leafs, I haven't really looked at their first round schedules beyond the first four games (I'll cross that bridge when I get there). And over those first four, only once do they play on the same day.
And that will be Sunday morning on my end. Unfortunately, my family is going on a two-day trip this Saturday (okay, I really shouldn't call this unfortunate, but I can't help myself), about a couple of hours away from Seoul, and we'll be staying overnight before returning home Sunday afternoon. I'll have to scramble to watch the Raptors tip off for Game 1 at 6 a.m. and then the Leafs in Game 2 starting at 9 a.m. Man, without this trip, these starting times would have worked out perfectly for me.
My wife works three Saturdays a month and she gets one Saturday off (If there are five Saturdays in a month, like in August and November this year, she'll get two Saturdays off. I have no idea why I am telling you this). Anyway, when we're both off on the same Saturday when/if the weather cooperates, we like to take our kids out for a short trip to different parts of the country. It's always nice to get out into the nature once in a while, though I'd prefer to do it after my Toronto teams are done playing in the playoffs. Any time between June and September works for me.
I obviously didn't have the courage to tell my wife (yet) about these playoff games and ask to reschedule the trip. She doesn't often get to pick the Saturday of her choice; she just ends up with whichever Saturday is left open after her co-workers make their move. And she'd planned this trip long before the playoff schedules were out. If I told her I didn't want to go because I had to watch my Toronto teams, well, I'd never be able to watch sports in her presence again for the rest of my life. I just hope she won't mind my watching Sunday morning games. Hey, the forecast calls for rain Sunday. So we should all just stay indoors and root for the Toronto teams!
After the Raptors' Game 1 Sunday morning, there won't be another overlap until the Leafs' potential Game 5 on April 20 my time, when the Raptors will be in Game 3.
Alas, just found out Games 3-5 in the Raptors series will be on the same day as Games 5-7 in the Leafs series. But that's as far as I'll go now. My head's hurting.
Anyhoo, the Raptors, as the No. 2 seed in the East, will take on the Magic in the first round. I was kinda wary about the Nets and maybe even the Pistons. The Magic, too, have been annoying because 1) they split the season series with us and 2) the two wins that they had were by an average 22 points. Those two losses for me were two of the ugliest defeats we suffered during the regular season, and not just because of the lopsided scores.
Of course, we didn't have Kyle or Kawhi in each of those games, so we can safely assume that things will be different with a full lineup on our end.
Let's dig in.
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 11, 2019
Matchup Issues
I think the reason why the Magic handled us so well is that they have some long and big bodies that match up well against our front court. Vucevic is a versatile center who can score from anywhere on the floor. Jonathan Isaac is a lanky, 6-foot-10 forward who gave Pascal fits this season. Siakam had the lower scoring average against the Magic than any other opponent this regular season (about 8 ppg). Aaron Gordon, at 6-9, has capitalized on his impressive athleticism to emerge as a strong defender in his own right. He did some fine work on Kawhi in one of the earlier meetings this season.
Serge will have trouble handling Vucevic down low, and Gasol, too, will have his hands full.
But Coach Nurse has been creative with his lineups all season (sometimes not by choice). If they throw Vucevic, Isaac and Gordon at us, well, we can either counter with a super big lineup of Gasol, Serge, Pascal, OG and Kawhi. Or we can go super small with Siakam at the five, joined by Kawhi, Danny G, Kyle and FVV.
Either way, low-post D and rebounding will likely be a problem for us. On the offensive end, though, I love the way we've been moving the ball so well over the last quarter or so of the season, since Gasol's arrival. And better ball movement has led to higher 3-point shooting percentage. Somewhere over 40 percent since February.
Plus, I like our secondary options. They have T. Ross, a former Raptor who could be fired up against his old team (though a fellow Raptors fan, who also happens to be my colleague, told me he has never seen Ross fired up for anything) and who averaged more than 15 ppg in just about 26 minutes off the bench, but that's really about it.
We have either Gasol or Serge as the first big off the bench, plus Fred and Norm, who has been coming on strong of late and who, as long as he doesn't try to do too much, can be a really useful weapon. After that, OG can be the ninth guy but if we need some shooting right away, who's to say Jodie Meeks, with his 44 percent shooting from downtown, won't get an opportunity? I've lost faith in Jeremy Lin but Nurse may choose to lean on him in stretches.
Nurse has thrown out so many different lineups that I don't think he'll ever panic. Familiarity/chemistry may be an issue but I think we can afford to keep experimenting against this Magic team.
Winning the 1st Game
Incredibly, we didn't win the first game of any playoff series until beating the Wizards in the first round last year. We'd held home court in some earlier series as well, so it's just hard to imagine we hadn't managed to win that ever-important Game 1 until 2018.
I don't know the exact figure in terms of how many Game 1 winners go through to the next round and that kind of stuff. But I'd imagine it's fairly high. Hardly anything is more deflating for a favored club than dropping the first game of a playoff series at home (I am looking at you, Tampa Bay Lightning!)
If the Leafs were hosting the Bruins to open their series, I'd be a bit more worried. But with the Magic, not so much.
I can't wait to see the Playoff Kawhi for the first time in a Raptors uniform. And I'll try not to let myself get distracted with thoughts like, "Is this going to be Kawhi's last game in Toronto?" or "Is he going to stay with us?"
Prediction
If you haven't noticed, yes, I think the Raptors will take the series, in 6 games. For some reasons stated above, I can totally see the Magic steal a couple of games, maybe.
But over a seven-game series, I don't think they have enough to beat us. With a few days off in between some early games, we should have Kawhi available throughout. The Magic can use their size up front but we'll have plenty of other weapons.
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