Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors Played A Game Tonight?
Toronto Raptors (2-6) 74
Indiana Pacers (3-5) 72
Nov. 13, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) lays the ball in against Toronto Raptors guard Jose Calderon (8) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE
Anyone who watched the Pacers and Raptors tonight is probably thinking, I am going to have to recap that game. If you want to call that a game. The Raptors put up 5 points in the fourth quarter after playing three overtimes last night, and win tonight’s game 74-72. That at least shows the Pacers can play an awful game, and have some shot to win as they took a few three pointers to try to win this game tonight. I have to give them credit for that, I’d rather go out in the early part of the season, and go for the win, not just the tie.
Maybe it helped the Raptors to play last night, and it hurt the Pacers to not play in a couple of nights. The Pacers came out on fire with a 13-4 lead, but after that, it was all Raptors in a way. Like I said that fourth quarter was all Pacers, who only put up 14 of their own points. You would have thought a team could break 80 points, and I am surprised these teams aren’t still playing to get to that bench mark.
Perhaps the most disappointing part of tonight’s game was the play of Roy Hibbert. He still can’t seem to find his way around the basket as he got 6 points. For a guy who is much bigger than most centers, he needs to get more points than that. Not sure what’s wrong with Hibbert, if he just hasn’t found the shot yet, or he’s at a loss in the confidence department. Last season, we saw how much that does play a part because when he makes a few of his first shots, he seems to be on so much more. But this season, it just hasn’t clicked. There could be so much pressure on him that he can’t perform, and if that’s the case, someone’s got to sit down and just make him realize he can do this. Who knows what else can be done?
As far as this game, I think the Pacers would be best served to watch it one time, and move on. Who knows why they couldn’t get going? Their defense was quite stellar in that second half, but it could have been partly because the Raptors were playing on those tired legs. This team has got to put up more than 72 points to stand any chance at competing even for a playoff spot. The Pacers have got to get out of this “figure out” mode soon, and kick into “competitive” mode. Luckily, they play tomorrow night against Milwaukee, so there’s not much time for this bad loss to sit. Go out with a fire tomorrow and put away a Bucks team that the Pacers should beat.