TORONTO — Before what would be the first NBA playoff experience for many of them, the Raptors claimed basketball is basketball, postseason or regular season. It’s not rocket science, they stressed.
Nope, they found out it’s even harder.
“It was unreal. It wasn’t nervous. It was just unreal. I can’t even explain it. The atmosphere was unlike anything I’ve ever been in in my life,” Raptor forward Terrence Ross, who was in foul trouble almost immediately in Game 1, said.
And so now that they basically were introduced to Advanced Quantum Physics through a 94-87 first game slop-filled defeat, the Raptors insist they will be ready and prepped for Game 2 Tuesday.
“The bright lights will dim a little bit for everyone. That first game is always tough,” said point guard Kyle Lowry.
“We have a bunch of young guys and now it’s over. We think guys are ready to move on.”
Of course, in the move forward, the Raptors would like to leave behind the mess created by 19 turnovers, an endgame dominated by Paul Pierce and the Nets’ experience, an opening that saw Deron Williams’ aggressive play set the tone and almost everything about All-Star DeMar DeRozan’s playoff debut.
DeRozan admitted the Nets are “unconventional” in their size and the constant doubling that led to him missing his first eight shots and finish shooting 3-of-13. While everyone Sunday spoke of screening and spacing better,
DeRozan claimed he has to be the aggressor.
“Every time I come off pin downs or coming off screens, they’re trying to get the ball out of my hands. So be more of a playmaker for myself, try to use myself as a decoy, but at the same time you’re aggressive,” DeRozan said.
“It’s just adjusting. I watched [film] trying to find more opportunities to be aggressive.”
And as expected, everyone expressed supreme confidence in a bounce back game from DeRozan. Lowry presented the simplest reason for the faith.
“Because he’s an All-Star,” Lowry said.
Film was in heavy use Sunday as the Raptors watched a replay of Saturday’s defeat and spotted this, noted that.
“A lot of things we can clean up. Brooklyn is a very veteran team. They took advantage of some of the mistakes we made,” said coach Dwane Casey who noted that despite everything that went wrong, the Raptors were in position to win late. “Game 2 is a whole different animal. The newness and the shiny part of the playoffs have worn off.”
Also worn off, the Raptors hope, is the controversy caused by general manager Masai Ujiri urging a pregame rally crowd to “F— Brooklyn.”
“That was said that day, now it’s a new game and we have to just go out there and play,” said Amir Johnson.