NBA Finals: Raptors Feast on Warrior Turnovers, Bag Game 1

Pascal Siakam picked a hell of a time to have the game of his life.

Actually, given his background, maybe that should say heck of a time.

The dude from Cameroon well and truly put together an inspired performance in Toronto's 118-109 Game 1 victory over a Golden State Warriors team that was never really in this one.

 

Siakam went 14-17 from the field -- including 2-3 at the arc and 2-2 from the line -- to amass a career-high 32 points in an exhibition where he dared the Dubs to stop him.

On the other end, dude did his bit to stop the Dubs:

 

His was a full-service effort.

Shallow wisdom had it that Golden State needed to keep Kawhi Leonard in check to control this game. They basically did, as dude's 5-16 FG total was pedestrian; it was his 10-12 stripers that pumped up his output.

 

Of course, scoring isn't everything -- and Leonard had a strong floor game -- but TO's keys to victory put the spotlight on Siakam and Golden State turnovers.

 

If only.

Viewed in the harsh light of cold reality, this game was otherwise close to even. However, when the Dubs opted to pass to the open dude at the scorer's table in the midst of committing other unforced errors, they just received a stark reminder that they're not that much better than the Raps.

Steve Kerr's crew must first show that they're at least as good as Toronto. The sportsbook says yes, but it's still down to when the rubber meets the road:

 

Warm and fuzzy.

Here's a deeper look at Game 1:

 

Obviously, the Raps are gonna look for more of the same the rest of the way.

The scrutiny's gonna be on the Dubs, who've just as obviously have already been there and done that. Their storylines, for example, will include:

• Was their Game 1 loss indeed a result of the fact that rust never sleeps?
• Do they really need Kevin Durant to put distance between themselves and Toronto?
• Will more than two non-Splash Brothers -- Andre Iguodala (3-7) and Kevon Looney (4-5) -- pop more than a mere two baskets from here on out?
• Will Boogie Cousins find a way to be part of the fun or just hang on for the ride?

 

The NBA would really appreciate it.

Ratings are down in the lower 48 for the playoffs, but Canada's got the fever.

They're finally expressing gratitude to their fellow citizen, Dr James Naismith.

 

It doesn't hurt that Canadian teams in any international sport have been starving for a winner -- any winner -- ever since the Blue Jays went back-to-back as World Series champions back in 1992 and 1993.

Frankly, this still looks like a tall order, but what the heck?

The next adjustment's gonna be down to the Dubs, but again, according to yet another Canadian ...