Toronto Raptors: 3 takeaways from promising Game 1 win vs. 76ers

3. Preparation and poise

It was clear from the beginning of the match, the Toronto Raptors — led by Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam — were determined to win. Both teams had ended their first round series last Tuesday night, giving them plenty of days for rest and preparation for their postseason meeting. This was the second time the two franchises have met in the postseason, with the first being in the 2001 Eastern Conference semifinal series that saw the Sixers win in seven games.

Redick scored 15 points in the third quarter to try and give the Sixers resurgence after his scoreless first half production, but for the most part he was held in check. Danny Green, who was Redick’s main defender, did his best to limit his effectiveness and punish him on both ends of the floor. Green’s physicality was too much for Redick to handle, and at one point Redick desperately threw himself into Green’s elbow trying to get a call, but was assessed a shooting foul on the same play and a technical for his dramatics.

On the defensive end, it wasn’t just Green who was effective. Aside from Redick and Simmons, who refuses to shoot outside of 10 feet from the rim, the rest of the Sixers’ starters shot under 36 percent. Marc Gasol continued his dominant defensive play against opposing All-Star centers. He held Embiid to 5-of-18 shooting, refusing to bite on any pump fakes and wasn’t allowing JoJo to overpowered him on the block. Gasol lead the team with a +29.

Toronto came into this game knowing its opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, and did its best to limit and exploit them, respectively. Toronto is at its best offensively when creating turnovers and running in transition. The Raptors had 21 fast break points, created 16 turnovers leading to 22 points and despite the starting lineup being smaller, outscored the Sixers in the paint, 42-40.

One of the biggest weaknesses for Toronto is its ability to rebound the ball on the defensive glass, and it feeds to one of the Sixers’ elite strengths: second chance opportunities. They held a 14-2 advantage in second chance points in Game 1.

That doesn’t tell the whole story, but Toronto will have to do a better job collecting those loose balls. One of the reasons the opportunity was there for the Sixers to collect so many rebounds was because of the team’s poor shooting night (39.3 percent) due to Toronto’s strong defensive schemes.