Going Full-Tom-Thibodeau? Sights and Sounds as the Indiana Pacers Take on the Toronto Raptors

The Indiana Pacers got the ball moving early, but it won’t be easy for them to pick up a win on the road against the Toronto Raptors.

The Indiana Pacers desperately need a win if they want to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt, but that won’t be easy against the Toronto Raptors.

Things are looking good early as the Pacers as they capitalized on turnovers in the first half to score 14 off of them.

Another big factor so far has been moving the ball. All of the starters had at least one assist in the first half including Thaddeus Young, who is underrated as a passer.

The bench unit actually held its own in Toronto, a necessary change from their usual problems, but that still doesn’t mean fans can’t ask for Nate McMillan to go Full-Tom-Thibodeau.

For what it’s worth, though, the bench unit went into the half with a 16-13 lead.

A big part of that has been Aaron Brooks with 7 points on 3 of 4 shooting and C.J. Miles scoring just as many off of a less efficient 2 of 7. Lavoy Allen, of course, had three offensive rebounds and the other two points the bench scored in the first half.

It will be the starters, however, that will end up deciding the game. The good news is Paul George went 5 of 10 from the field in the first half and 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. Throw in a free throw and you have 14 points to lead the Pacers in scoring. Thaddeus Young and Jeff Teague both had eight points to back up George.

A quick note: This is shaping up to be the best March by any Indiana Pacer if George keeps scoring in the second half. Something our own Mason Hankins wrote about recently.

The Second Half

DeMarre DeRozan had 27 points early in the third quarter, finally prompting McMillan to take Monta Ellis off him and putting Paul George as his defender. It is times like this you really miss George Hill.

On top of that, the Raptors went off as far as shooting is concerned in the third quarter. The Raptors went 10 of 20 from the floor while the Pacers were 8 of 24.

When you get outscored 34-20 in the third quarter, the game may well be over.

The Pacers rallied to within eight with 4:15 left and then seven with just over two minutes left, but you know how this ends.

Next: Miller Time Podcast Episode #183: Born Again Ready

According to PlayoffStatus.com, the Pacers are now more likely to miss the playoff than make them. They have a 51% chance of missing them, a 26% of the 8th seed, 15% for the 7th, 6% for the 6th, and only a 2% chance of the 5th.