Prior to last year’s round one game one victory over the Washington Wizards, the Toronto Raptors franchise had a 0-9 record in first round Game 1s. This outcome created a narrative that said to always to bet against the Raptors in Game 1 — even if they are the higher seed.
The lack of playoff success didn’t stop just in Game 1s. Who the Raptors are in the regular season and who they are in the playoffs over the last five seasons has been drastically different. For Masai Ujiri, it spelled out the need for change following the second-round sweep at the hands of LeBron and Cleveland in 2018.