The Good: The Pacers had more fast break points (12) in the first half than their season average from last year (9). The Pacers ended the game with 20 transition points. The fast break helped Indiana score 30+ points in both the first and fourth quarter. Compare that to last season when the Pacers had 52 quarters with 30+ points.
In the first half the Pacers looked exactly how you hope a small ball would be: fast breaks, attacking the basket and keeping the other team in check with a near constant attack when they had the ball.
The Bad: After dominating the first half and taking a 16 point lead the Pacers offense went cold while the Raptors went on a 27-8 run. Indiana finished strong but it was too little, too late as Luis Scola and company walked away with the win.
MVP: Aggressive George Hill™, or at least not passive George Hill played both the creator and the shooter at different points in the game. He knocked down 5 3-pointers on the night and led the team with 19 points. Down the stretch Monta Ellis took over more of the ball handling but Hill made his mark without the ball in his hands.
LVP: Jordan Hill started off the game the right way but as time wore on his 2 of 7 shooting and allowing too many Raptors rebounds cost Indiana several points. He might have seen less time but Ian Mahinmi (who played well and was close to a double-double) fouled out and forced Frank Vogel to play Jordan Hill more than he wanted. As Will Furr said in our game chat, Jordan Hill was “actively harmful”.
X-Factor: Ian Mahinmi may have fouled out but he ended the game with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. If he has a pulse on offense this year I will be happy.