To say it was the perfect storm for Toronto would be treating the Pacers’ performance far too kindly.
Sure, the Raptors, particularly DeMar Derozan, hit a lot of really tough, well-defended mid-range jumpers that are typically inefficient and undesired. And of course, four questionable foul calls derailed what could have been Roy Hibbert’s best offensive game of the season. But this game was there for the taking – and the Pacers repeatedly chose not to take it by turning the ball over at breakneck speed.
There were few positives. The new bench unit looked to be slowly rounding into form as Danny Granger, who had 9 points in a very quality first half of basketball, and the rest played extremely well in the second quarter. Paul George threw down a few nice alley-oops in the Air Canada Center, dunks that have rarely been seen since Vinsanity was at full force.
The rest, offensively at least, was flat-out awful.
Indiana turned the ball over 23 times, allowing 32 points off of those turnovers. In all, the passing was just flat-out dreadful. Indy only assisted on 16 of their 32 baskets, finishing with an assist to turnover ratio that would make the oft-maligned DJ Augustin blush. They were also out rebounded by a Toronto team that, well, let’s just say isn’t known around the league for its ability to clean the boards.
Perhaps the combination of back-to-back games sandwiched around New Year’s Eve was just too much to overcome. Either way, the Pacers deserved to lose this game, and they did so in ugly fashion.
Here is how each guy played individually tonight. Agree? Disagree? Express your thoughts below in the comments or yell at Jon Washburn (@Twitch8p9s) who filled in for Jared and Tim on Twitter.
| David West, PF 31 MIN | 3-9 FG | 3-4 FT | 7 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 9 PTS | -19West played most of the night without Hibbert, his partner in crime on offense. As a result, he had few open jumpers and even less space to work in the low block. Still, he was mediocre at best. | D+ | |
| Paul George, SF 37 MIN | 5-14 FG | 2-2 FT | 8 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 6 TO | 12 PTS | -21Take out the three highlight dunks and there was a lot to hate about PG’s game tonight. He didn’t play terrible defense on Derozan, who hit a lot of touch shots and shot below 50%, but he also didn’t shut him down when Indy needed him to be their defensive stopper. | D- | |
| Roy Hibbert, C 21 MIN | 6-10 FG | 4-5 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 4 TO | 16 PTS | -4Every time he was in the game, he changed it.Too bad he missed more than half of it. | INC | |
| George Hill, PG 31 MIN | 2-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 6 PTS | -14In the words of Jared, “Meh.” | C- | |
| Lance Stephenson, SG 34 MIN | 4-9 FG | 0-1 FT | 6 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 8 PTS | -10You would rather have “Bad Lance” – the guy that submits some idiotic plays because he’s making things happen than the “Was he even out there tonight Lance” that showed up tonight. | D+ |
| Luis Scola, PF 20 MIN | 3-10 FG | 1-2 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 7 PTS | -5Played well in the first half, but was a train wreck in the fourth quarter when the Pacers needed him to provide a spark. He still gets a passing grade because he’s only a bench player and shouldn’t be relied on to win the game. | B- | |
| Danny Granger, SF 23 MIN | 4-7 FG | 2-2 FT | 2 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 11 PTS | +3Employee #33 (copyright Mark Boyle) played well on both ends of the floor tonight, earning one of the only positive plus/minus grades for any Pacer that played meaningful minutes. One has to wonder if he would have been better than either Lance or George down the stretch tonight. | B+ | |
| Ian Mahinmi, C 22 MIN | 2-2 FG | 1-4 FT | 3 REB | 0 AST | 3 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 5 PTS | +1Played really well defensively, but earned my wife’s ire with his free throw shooting and overall offensive game. | C | |
| Donald Sloan, PG 1 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 0 PTS | +1Club Trillion tonight. | C | |
| C.J. Watson, PG 17 MIN | 3-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 8 PTS | +1A non-factor. | D+ | |
| Rasual Butler, SG 1 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | +1Garbage time. | C |