The Raptors just beat the Warriors 118-109, the Raptors were lead by Pascal Siakam who had 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Warriors were lead by Stephen Curry who had 34 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Warriors looked like they were the lesser team and the crowd got into their heads, with Drake and Draymond Green even getting into an argument after the game. So now we have to ask, what are the biggest takeaways from Game 1?
For the Warrior's side there lot of concern on their side, if Durant doesn't return for Game 2. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson had a combined 55 points, the rest of the team had a combined 54 points. Two players outscored their entire team, if they want to win Game 2 they need more contribution scoring from guys like Iguodala, Livingston, and Cousins. They had a combined 15 points, Iguodala is a former Finals MVP, Livingston was a key factor for the past Warriors scoring on the bench, and Cousins was added to make them the best team we've ever seen. Cousins was a shell of himself and it looked as almost he was playing for the Raptors. Cousins is coming back from an injury but I can't help but wonder if he did any conditioning at all before tonight. He played 8 minutes in total and when he would check out he looked completely out of breath, in fact during one of his free throws he looked as if he was trying to catch his breath. Cousins looked absolutely terrible tonight and you have to wonder if Steve Kerr should play him again in this Finals. I would say he shouldn't play again, this is the Finals there's no time for him to get reacclimated to playing again. Kevin Durant desperately needs to come back if the Warriors want this series to become more competitive and send Toronto home. The biggest worry about Durant not coming is the fact that at the end of the game it looked like Iguodala got hurt at the end of the game. If he is hurt we have to see how much this injury affects him, and if he can still play at a high level.
The Raptors have a lot to celebrate for how they played against the Warriors. Pascal Siakam was absolutely lights out shooting, going 14-17. This game was all Siakam, it was his game he was in the zone and no one could guard him tonight. Kwahi Leonard appeared to be worn down from his series against the Bucks, he went 5-14 tonight. Kwahi got the help he needed tonight so this won't be talked about as much. Kyle Lowry played a huge role tonight, even though he went 2-9 with 7 points he played a major role tonight. He finished with 9 assists and had huge defensive plays, he even drew 2 charges tonight, which he is leading the league this postseason in charges drawn. Marc Gasol played absolutely phenomenal tonight, he scored 20 points and played good defense on Curry. He kept at least stepping out to help make sure Curry didn't get a constantly wide open three pointers. Fred VanVleet scored 15 points and kept this crazy run he is having keep going. VanVleet has one more season on his contract, after this season, and he is playing like he is looking for a huge paycheck. If you perform well in the Conference Finals and the Finals, you're guaranteed a huge paycheck. With Kwahi being uncertain on his return to the Raptors next season, VanVleet is taking advantage of what could be his only chance in the Finals.
The Warriors ultimately got outplayed tonight, they looked Rusty and they only received helped scoring from two players, that needs to change if they want to win. Cousin's shouldn't play again for the rest of this series and Durant needs to come back. The Raptors need to keep the crowd going, as you could tell that really helped swing the game into their favor. Siakam has became a name everyone around the league knows tonight, now we will have to see how he responds when the Warriors strategize around him on defense.
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