Playoff Matchups That The Raptors Could See In The First Round

Indiana Pacers

Season series: Series tied 1-1 (2 games remaining)

Best Player: Victor Oladipo

Watch Out For: Lance Stephenson

The emergence of Victor Oladipo and a potential homecoming for Cory Joseph would make this first-round series very interesting.

Most NBA fans thought the Indiana Pacers would be rebuilding with Oladipo and Myles Turner as the corner pieces. It seems that they are well ahead of their rebuild process. Victor Oladipo has turned into a star putting up career numbers in almost everything. Myles Turner who averaged over 3 blocks a game in the first round series in 2016 could also be a matchup problem. However, the key to winning this series will be to stay focused and composed. Lance Stephenson has been the main cause of the Raptors’ frustration against the Pacers. There was the confrontation with PJ Tucker and DeMar DeRozan and then a second altercation involving DeRozan again when Stephenson pushed him to the ground. If Toronto losses focus on offense or defense, things could go south if they revert to their isolation style play

This could be an entertaining matchup between DeRozan and Oladipo, but this will be the series that Lowry needs to step up against the point guard depth in Indiana. If he is able to keep this team focused on winning the series as the leader, they should win in no more than 6 games.