Toronto Raptors Aim To Overcome Historic Game 1 Struggles

The Toronto Raptors are the defending NBA champions and are heavy favorites in their first round series against Brooklyn Nets, which begins Monday at the NBA bubble in Orlando. But they have to overcome some opening game jitters that have plagued the Raps in their franchise history.

Whether led by Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Chris Bosh, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry or Kwahi Leonard, Toronto just can’t seem to win Game 1s. Since the Raptors came into the NBA in 1995, they’re 4-15 all-time in Game 1 of playoff series, and it’s become a joke among the team’s writers and fans.

“Who’s gonna put up 35 to beat us in Game 1 this season? How are we gonna lose this time?”

The joke answer this year is Joe Harris or Chris Chiozza, or some other non-obvious Brooklyn player. But Toronto’s inability to win opening games in the playoffs is remarkable.

After making the playoff for the first time 20 years ago and being swept by the New York Knicks in round one, Toronto got its revenge in the 2000-2001 playoffs but lost that first game. The Raptors may have won Game 1 in their second round series against Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers, but fell in seven.

It would be another 17 years before Toronto won another Game 1. The Raps lost 10 consecutive openers, including all three in the 2015-2016 postseason when they made a run to the conference finals. It wasn’t until the first round of the 2017-2018 playoffs against the Washington Wizards that Toronto finally got one, and then it was promptly swept by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round for the second consecutive season.

That sweep caused Raptors president Masai Ujiri to replace longtime beloved head coach Dwane Casey with Nick Nurse and compelled him to make one of the biggest trades of the last decade by trading DeRozan and others for Leonard and Danny Green. That, as you probably know if you’re reading this, led to the Raptors winning the title.

And not only did Toronto win it all last season, it went an unprecedented 2-2 in Game 1s including a win over the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, doubling its Game 1 win total of the previous two-plus decades. Perhaps that’s the power of Leonard, who left to join the Los Angeles Clippers after taking home Finals MVP, and Green, who left to join James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

With both those players gone, will Toronto’s newfound Game 1 prowess continue? Or will the Raptors revert to their longstanding ways and somehow lose another series opener? Toronto will just have to hope that history doesn’t repeat itself once again.