Raptors by the numbers: How much does Game 1 loss hurt?

TORONTO – Don't tell Dwane Casey the Raptors are in tough after losing Game 1 of their first round series at home on Saturday against the Indiana Pacers.

"I know the percentages and the numbers and all that bullcrap, but it's a long series," Casey said following the 100-90 loss. "I know our team and we didn't play to our identity, but I know we'll come back Monday night and play to our identity."

You don't have to look back far for recent examples of what's happened when these Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan-led Raptors have fallen behind 0-1 in a series, losing to the Nets in seven games in 2014 and being swept by the Wizards last year. Taking into account the franchise's entire history, Toronto has now dropped the opening game in eight of their nine playoffs series and have come back to win once, a five-game first round series against the Knicks in 2001.

So based on their own history the odds are stacked against them, but what does history of the NBA say? According to WhoWins.com, the team that goes down 0-1 has rebounded to win a seven-game series 23% of the time. When that loss comes at home, however, the percentage jumps to 46%. In the first-round, home teams that have lost Game 1 are 14-14 in seven-game series. Good teams, the ones that have earned home-court advantage, are in a better position to bounce back.

Why the Raptors lost Saturday is less of a mystery. Toronto turned the ball over 20 times and shot 21.4% (4-of-19) on three-pointers. Needless to say, that's not a recipe for success. NBA teams went 65-135 (.325 winning-percentage) this season when turning the ball over 20 or more times and 42-123 (.255%) when shooting 21% or worse from three.

The first step to avoiding another first-round exit is to get sharper with the ball offensively and knock down open threes. Finding a way to slow down Pacers All-Star Paul George, who scored 33 points in Game 1, is also important. The focus now turns to Game 2 on Monday night, because if the Raptors turn in a repeat performance and go down 0-2 with the series shifting to Indiana, then they'll really be in trouble. And they won't need any percentages and numbers to tell them that. The boos they'll hear from the home crowd will confirm that loud and clear.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr