The Toronto Raptors could learn a thing or two from the Indiana Pacers. As you may recall, the Pacers were once one of the NBA’s middling franchises. They had a failed experiment with a first-year head coach, and with too much roster overlap, they decided to make a change. Tyrese Haliburton replaced All-Star center Domantas Sabonis. It wasn’t pretty right away. Indiana had to endure two losing seasons before realizing that this Pacers team has the makings of something special. They’re an offensive juggernaut led by Haliburton, and despite a 132-131 loss to Toronto on Wednesday night, it’s clear they’re on the right track.
Things are a little murkier in Toronto.
Pascal Siakam is still a superstar. He demonstrated this with a 36-point performance against the Pacers. However, it is clear that the Raptors are, well, middling. They’re the type of team that can get blown out by the Orlando Magic one night and then look like an offensive powerhouse the next. Barnes is the future of Toronto. He was the one with the ball and the game on the line on Wednesday. When the Raptors bluffed a handoff to Siakam late in the fourth quarter, Barnes called his own number, beating Myles Turner to the basket for the and-1 finish that put the Raptors ahead.
The Pacers made it difficult. With less than a minute remaining, Haliburton put Indiana ahead with a smooth floater. Anunoby made a mistake. He then brought the Pacers within one point with a pair of free throws, but Indiana couldn’t hit the game-winning shot in the final seconds.
Without Siakam, Toronto would not have been able to keep the game close. He was seemingly everywhere for the Raptors, and when the Pacers decided to smother him, he found Anunoby in the corner with a kick-out pass to give Toronto a late lead. He regained the lead at the free throw line with 36 seconds remaining before Barnes took over.
Given the Pacers’ high-powered offense and Toronto’s performance against the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night, it was a miracle that the Raptors kept up with them. Haliburton is nothing more than a wizard with a ball. His behind-the-back and over-the-head passes are breathtaking. With his 6-foot-5 frame, he can throw alley-oop passes and find rolling big men from every angle, and if you sag off him for even a split second, he’s more than capable of nailing threes from 30-plus feet.
In the first half, Toronto had no answers for the Pacers. Heild looked like the type of shooter the Raptors want, connecting on five of his six three-point attempts and scoring 19 points.
Haliburton added three more three-pointers to his 33-point total. He even made Anunoby look foolish a few times with his spin-around step-back jumper, which he managed to nail with ease. Fortunately for the Raptors, the Pacers’ lackluster defense meant they had no answers for Toronto as well. With 19 points before the break, Siakam got into the paint all night, exploiting mismatches against nearly every Pacers defender.
Following a sluggish start, it was the Raptors’ bench unit, led by Malachi Flynn, that reclaimed the lead. He went on a personal 8-2 run to start the second quarter, hitting a pair of three-pointers before finding Barnes for a kick-out three in the corner to put the Raptors ahead.
Wednesday was Flynn’s best and most impactful game of the season. In a 14-point performance, he kept Toronto going offensively with bench units, even beating Jalen Smith after an in-bounds pass with a quick drive to the hoop early in the fourth.
In the second half, Siakam was relentless in his attacks on the basket and unstoppable once he got going. He’d settle for a mid-range jumper if the Pacers got too close to the basket. He beat his man to the bucket when Indiana played up on him or was too slow to defend. Barnes didn’t seem to get going until late in the second half, when Siakam found him for a kick-out pass behind the arc that gave Toronto a three-point lead late in the third. That energized the third-year forward, who scored eight of his 20 points in the fourth quarter.
What the Raptors demonstrated on Wednesday is what will irritate Toronto fans all season. They’re painfully inconsistent, oscillating between frustrating blowout losses, lows like the Orlando loss, and highs like a thrilling victory over Indiana. Even after the exciting ones, the path forward cannot be altered, and it is sometimes necessary to take a step back in order to take a step forward. The Pacers did it, and they’re now on their way to becoming a contender. It’s possible that Toronto should follow suit.
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