Toronto Raptors: 3 keys for Game 2 of the 2019 NBA Finals

1. Toronto pitching another masterpiece in half-court defense

The calling card all postseason for the Toronto Raptors has been their halfcourt defense, and their collective length, IQ and talent on the defensive end gave them a chance in this series.

In Game 1, all of these ingredients were on display as they limited Golden State to 72 points in the halfcourt on non-broken plays. Golden State scored 20 second chance points and another 17 fastbreak points, but when Toronto’s defense was set, the champs struggled to find rhythm.

With no true wing scorer for Kawhi Leonard to be thrown on, people wondered if he would guard Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson, but Kyle Lowry and Danny Green took the task of chasing the Splash Bros around in the first quarter.

Lowry was cooked for 10 points on 16 matchups against Curry, but Fred VanVleet, who held Curry to 4.0 points while shooting 1-for-6 from the field on 39 possessions in the regular season, limited the two-time MVP to four points on 33 possessions, holding him to 1-for-6 shooting from the field once again.

It wasn’t just FVV that played well defensively as Marc Gasol, a former Defensive Player of the Year, was hyperactive all of the court. His size bothered Curry when they’d trap a pick-and-roll which led to numerous defelctions and a jump-ball tie up.

Gasol was captaining the defense, calling out screens and protecting the paint as he finished with one block and a pair of steals.

Before Kevin Durant‘s potential return to the lineup, the Warriors have limited scoring options. For all of their ball movement and cutting, focusing most of your attention to Curry and Klay and limiting the clean looks or looks in general they get from deep is the best way to beat them.

With only two legit scoring threats and not the best shooting around them, it’s tough to find where Golden State will get the points until KD is back(if he is), which showed as only one non-Splash Bro reached double-digit points as Draymond Green scored 10 on the night.

The Raptors have been the best defense throughout the postseason and can play so many different ways with Siakam and Serge Ibaka capable of incorporating a switch everything defense if needed, or Gasol can trap pick-and-rolls and use his size to deter passing lanes.

With FVV doing his best 2015 Matthew Dellavedova impersonation on Curry, the Raptors have a defensive formula that works, for now.

If Durant is back in the mix, it’s nice to know that Kawhi has been rested on the defensive end by not having a difficult individual matchup because the looming matchup with Durant will take all of his attention as his teammates play their part in neutralizing the Splash Bros and the rest of the Warriors, as they did in Game 1.

Maintaining that focus and activity in Game 2, and limiting transition opportunities for the Warriors once again is the recipe for the Raptors to push this series to a 2-0 lead in their advantage.