After a dominant Game 3 performance, the Toronto Raptors have an opportunity to take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Indiana Pacers.
The narrative has changed, and the Toronto Raptors control their own destiny. Having outperformed Paul George and the Indiana Pacers, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, as well as the rest of the team, especially Dwane Casey know that their opposition will be be playing like their lives depended on it. Because it does.
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During the post game interview, George claimed that DeMarre Carroll was hitting him on his elbow and wrist on most of his shots, attributing to his 6 of 19 field goal percentage. While the Toronto Raptors have held Paul George at low shooting percentage throughout the season and in 2 games of the playoffs, we can expect the referees to give more attention to the George-Carroll matchup.
As for Lowry and DeRozan, the All-Star duo will need to build on their Game 3 success if they want any chance of winning Game 4. Indiana’s main focus coming into the series was shutting down the highest scoring backcourt duo in the Eastern Conference, which places a target on Kyle and DeMar’s back for any and all Indiana Pacer over aggressive defense. Expect their shots to be highly limited.
The Raptors walk out of Game 4 up 3-1 if:
- They approach the game professionally. The last time Toronto had a series lead in the postseason was two years ago when they went up 3-2 against Brooklyn. They came out flat in Game 6 and we all know how Game 7 went. Expect these Raptors to stay focused on the task at hand and handle this game with poise.
- Expect Indiana’s best punch and punch back. Paul George said it after Game 3 — the Pacers must play like they’re angry. And they will. The Raptors must be able to take it on the chin and be able to counter punch and match Indy’s defensive onslaught, which means no offensive droughts!
- The better team is the better team. Player for player, the Raptors are the better team. They didn’t win 56 games by accident. They need to show Paul George, Indiana, Raptors fans back home and the rest of the league that Toronto is here to stay as one of the elite teams in the NBA. Lowry, DeRozan, Carroll, Jonas Valanciunas, Patrick Patterson, Terrence Ross, Cory Joseph, Luis Scola and Norman Powell must play like this is Game 7. They can ill afford to be too loose, and they can ill afford to be too anxious.
Prediction:
Expect a tightly contested matchup between two highly skilled defensive teams. This game will be decided at the buzzer, with the better team coming out on top. That team will be the Toronto Raptors!
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All stats are provided by Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise stated. Matthew Allman is a staff writer for Raptors Rapture. For more coverage on the Toronto Raptors, follow Matthew on Twitter @ShadowRapsFan and also follow @RaptorsRapture for the latest in Raptors news.