The Toronto Raptors‘ return to the NBA Playoffs got off to a rocky start with a 126-113 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1. The 4-5 NBA Playoff matchup between the teams continues on April 20 with Game 2, but the Raptors already have a 1-0 deficit they need to find a way to come back from.
Brandon Ingram made his Playoff debut with the Raptors and had an average performance with 17 points (5-9 FG), two rebounds, four assists, and one block. Ingram played over 36 minutes in the game, so it was surprising that he took just nine shots total in the entire game. He took eight shots in the first half, so only one shot in 24 minutes of the second half from the team’s leading scorer is unusual.
Ingram addressed his passive shooting performance in the second half in the post-game press conference, attributing his shot volume in the loss to head coach Darko Rajakovic’s game plan.
“Well, the coach wanted to use me as a screener. Also, he noticed that my man wasn’t coming off me, so he wanted me outside of the action and being a receiver. At the end of the day, me shooting 9 shots is not going to win basketball games.”
Ingram averaged 21.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists during the regular season, attempting 16.7 shots per game. He is the team’s featured scorer, so if he is not providing consistent scoring, it’ll be hard for the Raptors to keep up with the Cavaliers’ backcourt of James Harden and Donovan Mitchell.
Ingram hasn’t had many Playoff opportunities in his career, but is averaging a strong 21.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.9 assists on 16.5 shots per game in 11 Playoff games in his career. The 28-year-old forward can’t have nights like these if the Raptors are hoping to make a miracle run through the Eastern Conference.
The scoreline doesn’t reflect the competitiveness of the game itself, as a 21-6 run in the first six minutes of the third quarter essentially killed the Raptors, as they couldn’t recover from that run for the rest of the second half. It’s important to remember that the first half was closely-contested, with the Raptors trailing by only seven points at the midway point.
If Ingram was more aggressive in the second half, the Raptors could’ve made a bigger dent in their deficit. They outscored the Cavaliers 37-29 in the fourth quarter, but without Ingram setting the tone offensively, it was going to be hard for Toronto to find consistent scoring opportunities against a strong Cavaliers team.
The Raptors don’t have the Playoff experience of the current Cavs core and are the road team for this series, so they have to overperform to potentially pull off an upset. It won’t happen unless Ingram is locked in, so a conversation with coach Rajakovic is crucial for the team before Game 2 starts.
