Despite the fact that the Toronto Raptors' roster has remained nearly identical to last season's club, the team’s front office, coaches and players have all suggested that a culture change took place last offseason.Therefore, although the Raptors have not gotten over the hump in recent years, they have a chance to dethrone LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers and vault into the NBA Finals. After all, they are the No. 1 seed in the East.Heading into Saturday’s Game 1 matchup against the Washington Wizards, the Raptors were focused and delivered an impressive 114-106 victory in front of a raucous home crowd."Our Game 1 is our Game 7,” said Kyle Lowry before the game, per Lori Ewing of The Canadian Press.The reason why the game meant so much to Lowry was that the Raptors have traditionally struggled in Game 1 situations. In fact, before Saturday, the team had gone an astounding 0-9 in their last nine playoff series and hadn't ever won their opening playoff game. 

"We got Game 1, as we should," DeMar DeRozan said after the game. "We've been great at home all year, and that's something we've worked for and gained that reputation from the beginning of the season, how we ended up playing at the end of the season, so we already had that in our minds. On home court, we're supposed to win. That's our mindset.”

The Raptors were phenomenal in front of their home crowd during the regular season, going 34-7, which tied the Houston Rockets for the best home record in the entire NBA. That mark was the best in the Eastern Conference by a long shot.

"It's not a sigh. It's a journey, it's a marathon," Raptors coach Dwane Casey noted. "Whatever it was that that first game was about, hopefully we got it off our back. But we're not satisfied. We're in this for the long run. We're in a tough series against a very athletic, fast team, so we can't, there's not a sigh of relief.”

Per usual, the Raptors bench came to play, outscoring Washington’s 42-21.

“Their bench was great,” Wizards point guard John Wall said, per Candace Buckner and Ava Wallace of The Washington Post. “They played well, made some big shots for them and that’s what they are going to do every game. We got to make adjustments.”

“They are the No. 1 seed for a reason,” Wizards Coach Scott Brooks said. “They have a lot of good players. Guys off the bench came in and stepped up.”

Although Game 1 is just a single game in a seven-game series, winning it suggests that the team might be ready to take the next step and to therefore put the past in the past.

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