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Toronto Raptors: 5 Takeaways From Game 1 vs. Cavaliers

By Justin Rowan

May 17, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Terrence Ross (31) and forward Luis Scola (4) watch from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game one of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 115-84. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Terrence Ross (31) and forward Luis Scola (4) watch from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game one of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 115-84. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Toronto Raptors lost Game 1 in embarrassing fashion to the Cleveland Cavaliers. While it can be hard to dissect a blowout, here are the five biggest takeaways from Game 1 for Toronto.

May 17, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Terrence Ross (31) and forward Luis Scola (4) watch from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game one of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 115-84. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
May 17, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Toronto Raptors forward Terrence Ross (31) and forward Luis Scola (4) watch from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game one of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavs won 115-84. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports /

Well, that couldn’t have gone much worse.

The Toronto Raptors came out of the gate hot, getting out to a 9-2 lead early in the game. DeMar DeRozan hit his first five shots and things appeared to be working early as the Cleveland Cavaliers showed signs of rust early on.

But by the end of the first quarter, the Cavs led 33-28 and would not surrender the lead for the remainder of the evening.

Ultimately the game was played at a pace that the Raptors were unable to keep up with. The 28 first-quarter points by Toronto were the most they were able to muster as they scored 16, 23 and 17 points respectively in the following quarters.

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A track meet with the Cavaliers was certainly not in the game plan and not a recipe for success, but a Game 1 blowout also is not a death sentence, as we’ve seen already in the playoffs.

While the Cavs were heavy favorites heading into this series and Game 1 strongly reinforced why they are expected to advance, there is still more series left and things to focus on moving forward.

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