Indiana Pacers at Raptors: Game 2 preview & 3 keys

In what turned out to be one the worst games in the first round so far, the Toronto Raptors dropped their 7th playoff game in a row to the Indiana Pacers. Will they be able to recover and even the series at 1-1? Paul George will have something to say about that.

The Toronto Raptors are in trouble, they can’t seem to find any rhythm in the playoffs that is comparable to the regular season. In what looked to be repeat performances from Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan to last year’s playoff sweep, the Raptor fans are sweating. The duo combined to shoot 8-32 and reminded every fan of the hollowing feelings of years past. The only way the Raptors are going to win this series is if they play up to their regular standards; if they can’t put it together then it’s already over.

More from Raptors Rapture

Paul George carried the Pacers on his back. He nailed 10-13 in the second half for 27 points, yelling “I got us!” to his bench after big shots. He caught fire and the Raptors had no answer for him as their own players couldn’t hit their big shots. It’s hard to blame one person, but the small forward we always wanted for defense was inexplicably not used in key stretches, and when DeMarre Carroll entered the game, it was too late. On certain plays, you can see George coming around screens and a lack of hedging by the bigs allowed George to free up and heat up. Dwane Casey has said they have made alterations for game 2, but seeing how well he has fared in the past, it will be interesting how much or how little he goes outside his comfort zone.

This is the ever important game 2 at home. If they win, it’s a 5 game series, if they lose, they will go on the road for a possible early first round exit again. The Raptors will be able to win if they…

…relax. The Raptors took an incredible amount of unnecessarily forced shots. They never seemed to find their comfort zones. Be it long twos, weird drives into the defense, or a lack of ball movement; it was a messy offensive game. They will need to cool off and relax on their shot selection most importantly. The team looked scared to move the ball and didn’t want to fall into more turnovers, so they forced the issue a lot of the time. The Pacers defense played well but Toronto needs to relax and play their game.
…contain the 3. I stated in my series preview that they have an array of above-average shooters around the outside. They let C.J. Miles cap a 5-0 run early in the second quarter that killed a Raptor’s 8 point lead. It was careless to leave the marksman open. Late in the game, when the Pacers had their confidence, they were not going to miss any amount of open threes. The Raptors need better coverage of three-point shots, while relying on their bigs to contain the drive.
…get a big time performance from the back court. This game lies solely on DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry’s shoulders. The weight they kept on their shoulders to win 56 games is important, and them doing the same in the playoffs is more. They will need to pick it up, no excuses. No more playoffs jitters, play your game and don’t get frustrated by the calls and no-calls. These guys need to make their shots and take it to the hoop with reckless abandon, draw in the defenses and set up their teammates. It’s now or never.

Next: Raptors need All-star Lowry back

I predict a bounce back game from the backcourt, which in turn will lead to a Raptor victory. There are really no other options as a Raptor fan, if they go down 2-0 and take it on the road, the mountain that is the first round win will only grow taller. These guys should take care of business. They need to.

Home/Raptors News