Paul George ensures Raptors' Game 1 woes continue

The Toronto Raptors and their fans experienced the worst kind of deja vu Saturday, once again reliving the franchise's inveterate nightmare that is Game 1 of the postseason.

Opening the playoffs at home (where they went 32-9 this season), as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, against a ho-hum Indiana Pacers team they'd beaten three out of four times in the regular season, the Raptors looked like a safe bet to break their six-game playoff losing streak.

Instead, Toronto looked tight from the outset, shot the ball horrifically, and opened the door for Paul George to take over in the second half as the Pacers wrested away home-court advantage with a 100-90 win. The Raptors, who wasted a tremendous effort from center Jonas Valanciunas, are now 0-8 all-time in playoff openers.

It would be easy to point to the Raptors' last two playoff disappointments - losing both times despite having home-court - and conclude that their current nucleus is simply unclutch. Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan certainly did little to dispel that notion Saturday, shooting a combined 8-of-32 from the field, 1-of-10 from deep, and 8-of-15 from the free-throw line. But saying they choked away a game that was theirs to win would also be a disservice to George, who was masterful.

The last time George played postseason basketball, he was checking LeBron James in Game 6 of the conference finals two years ago. Since then, he's suffered a traumatic leg injury, made the long, grueling recovery, and returned to All-Star (and likely All-NBA) status. His two-way dominance in his playoff return was comprehensive, leaving the Raptors flustered and out of answers.

George poured in 27 points in the second half on his way to a game-high 33, which is the most a Pacers player has ever scored in the opening game of a playoff series. He shot 12-of-22 from the field and 4-of-5 from downtown, and when he wasn't knocking down all manner of jump shots, he was beating Raptors wings off the bounce, sucking in help defenders, and pitching to open teammates. His line also included a team-high six assists.

For all that, his impact at the defensive end may have been even more pronounced. He completely bottled up DeRozan, holding the NBA's ninth-leading scorer to 14 points on 5-of-19 shooting. DeRozan, who led the NBA in points off the drive this season, continually tried to make things happen going to the basket, and continually found himself enveloped by George's unkind embrace.

When George wasn't playing lockdown one-on-one defense, he was deflecting balls with his active hands or jumping passing lanes. He blocked two shots, swiped a game-high four steals, and was the biggest contributor to the Raptors' 19 turnovers - which led to 25 Pacers points.

Toronto played poorly, and it's unlikely they'll shoot 38 percent from the field and 21.1 percent from 3-point range the rest of the series. But George was far and away the best player on the floor, and if that continues over the next few games, the Raptors could be in serious trouble.