The Toronto Raptors were stunned by the Orlando Magic in Game 1. Despite the loss, point guard Fred VanVleet is still optimistic about his team's chances moving forward.
The Magic managed to erase the Raptors' homecourt advantage with a 104-101 win. According to Josh Lewenberg of The Sports Network, VanVleet is confident that Toronto will be able to make their adjustments for Game 2.
“We've gotta look in the mirror and see where we messed up and fix it going forward. But it's nothing that can't be fixed. It's nothing that is astronomical. It's just simple stuff that we didn't do a good enough job of.”
There is certainly good reason for Fred VanVleet to be confident in his team. There is no question they were taken by surprise by a Magic squad that struggled to perform consistently throughout the 2018-19 NBA season. It is safe to say that Orlando will no longer be sneaking up on Toronto moving forward.
The Raptors were also plagued by an abysmal performance from point guard Kyle Lowry. VanVleet has already expressed his optimism that Lowry will be able to bounce back the rest of the series. Although the prospect of him going scoreless again is highly unlikely, Toronto will rely heavily on VanVleet to be a spark plug off the bench.
Perhaps, the biggest issue plaguing the Raptors in Game 1 was their inability to defend the 3-point line. The Magic managed to go 14-of-29 from deep, which included the game-winner from point guard DJ Augustin. While this issue can largely be attributed to a lack of effort, it will be interesting to see if they are able to contain Orlando moving forward.
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