CLEVELAND — The Raptors had some difficulties slowing down the Cavaliers in Game 1.

That’s putting it mildly.

Here are five ideas, in no particular order, that might help them fare better moving forward.

1. SEND THEM TO THE LINE

Yes, LeBron James shot 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in Game 1 and, sure, Tristan Thompson hit 5-of-6, but the odds say those numbers won’t hold up throughout this series.

James is a 74% shooter from the line in his career, but shot just 67.4% this past regular season, a career-low and only the second time in 10 seasons he has been below 70%.

He’s also shot 74% from the line in the playoffs, but hit only 57.9% in the first round against Indiana and just 66% last year on the way to the title. Not only is free-throw shooting about the only weakness in his game, he also doesn’t like it when opponents get overly physical with him. Make him earn it. James averaged 32.8 points and shot 54% from the field against the Pacers.

Meanwhile, Thompson shot just below 50% from the free-throw line this season and has never been particularly effective there.

2. MAKE THEM WORK

Only the 2000-01 Lakers have had a worse defensive rating than the Cavs among title teams. Cleveland was dreadful defensively for the entire second half of the season. It is a major weakness. By moving the ball better and more assertively and by hitting more shots early (a problem in the opener), the Raptors will force the Cavs to use up more energy, making them weaker at the other end (at least in theory). By aggressively attacking the basket more often (remember, the Cavs don’t have a shot-blocker inside), the Raptors should get better looks and perhaps get into the bonus, which is always a big help.

3. QUICK HOOKS

Jonas Valanciunas was awful, DeMarre Carroll mostly invisible in Game 1. There are good cases to be made that neither should continue to start games for the team. Norman Powell unlocks many positive things on both ends of the floor, although the Raptors would be losing size. P.J. Tucker is a better player than Carroll at this point. If they make the mistake of continuing to start either Valanciunas or Carroll, at the least, Dwane Casey and the coaching staff must be ruthless in removing them quickly if they have issues again. The same goes for Patrick Patterson, who looked lost on Monday night and Cory Joseph if he doesn’t have it.

4. SHOT-MAKING/TAKING

The Raptors didn’t take enough three-pointers and DeMar DeRozan didn’t get enough shots from his customary comfort areas (the mid-range and in the post). Cleveland is going to launch a ton of treys, so in order to keep up and not trade two-pointers for three-pointers too often, teams must fire away early and often as well.

Hitting more open looks wouldn’t hurt, either. Toronto is usually a solid team from the corners, but went a dismal 1-for-12 from corner three-pointers in Game 1. Patterson went 1-for-5 on open shots, Lowry 2-for-7, Powell 3-for-7. DeRozan only took two uncontested shots all game, one of his lowest totals of the entire season.

“Three-point shooters have to take their shots,” Casey said. “The game is changing, and we’ve got to make sure we’re in that movement of changing, of playing faster, a lot of shots.”

Casey also mentioned that Tucker needs to stop stepping on the three-point line so often when he shoots.

5. SPEED IT UP?

This one is a little questionable as the Raptors are anything but a run-and-gun type of team. Only eight teams played at a slower pace than the Raptors in the regular season. Slow and methodical is a more apt description of the way they attack. The problem is, versus the Cavs, slow is death. The Cavs are old and weary, they don’t want to get into a track meet. They don’t want to waste energy running up and down repeatedly with an opponent trying to stop them. They don’t cover a ton of ground defensively unless they are really locked in. The more you run, the less likely they are to be consistently locked in.

“When they score, you can’t put your head down,” Lowry said. “You’ve got to run down the floor and not look to get a play-call ... Try to get something easy, try to get a jump shot or open look quicker or get a layup.

“We took our time and it’s just a difficult pace to play at when you’re playing against a team that can roam and kind of junk up the game defensively.”

rwolstat@postmedia.com