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The Raptors missed a glorious opportunity to make a statement on Wednesday night.
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A chance to all but bury a team chasing them in the play-in race. A chance to gain some revenge against a Pacers squad that had their number in two previous meetings.
An opportunity to pull even with Atlanta for eighth (meaning two chances to make the playoffs if you end up in that spot).
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Instead, the Raptors just looked off. A step slow against one of the league’s quicker teams, even one missing its outstanding point guard, Tyrese Haliburton. It was a troubling outing, especially if the defence keeps failing to keep offensive players in front. O.G. Anunoby had a rare off night, but it wasn’t just him. Every Raptor struggled to contain dribble penetration.
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Yet, a normal offensive performance would have resulted in a win.
Now, with nine games remaining, the margins are getting smaller. It’s highly unlikely either Brooklyn or Miami will be caught by the Raptors. Both the Nets and Heat have an easy schedule remaining, per Tankathon. Brooklyn has the third-easiest remaining schedule in the East in terms of winning percentage of its opponents, Miami the fifth-easiest, the Raptors just the 10th-easiest. Indiana at least has the third-toughest remaining games, Atlanta the second-toughest. Chicago has the sixth-easiest and is only 0.5 games back of the Raptors now, though DeMar DeRozan is hurt.
I’m calling it now that Washington is out of the picture and I have a weird feeling Toronto will be visiting Kyle Lowry in Miami for the 7-8 play-in game, with Atlanta and Indiana playing the 9-10 game.
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- That was one crazy finish for over/under bettors (231.5). After the first quarter (when Portland sashayed to the rim repeatedly like a conga line) it appeared over would take it comfortably. But the second and third quarters saw the defence raised and under appeared to be likely. Even inside of the final two minutes it looked good. The game was no longer in reach for the Raptors, but the team fouled anyway, resulting in a pair of Pacers free throws. It still should have hit, but Indiana was already celebrating when Chris Boucher launched an unguarded three-pointer that swished through at the buzzer. So there it was, 232. Those Vegas bookies sure know what they’re doing, but that’s one bad beat for under bettors (and a great one for those who took the over).
- The Boucher three also meant the Raptors got to 20% three-point shooting, ignoring a chance for this to be one of the five worst three-point accuracy games for a Raptors team in the last six seasons.
- The Will Barton buyout pickup is starting to resemble the Jeremy Lin buyout pickup. Both veteran guards had strong track records and seemed like solid pickups when Toronto acquired them, but Lin struggled mightily in 23 games with the Raptors, shooting the worst percentages of his career and was out of the NBA after the stint. Barton, who had been a good starter for years in previous stops, was forced into his first start since last April on Wednesday. Barton hadn’t played more than 17 minutes in months and in his 22 minutes missed all five of his three-point attempts and 6-of-8 shots overall. He was also targeted at times defensively and didn’t play for the final 1.5 quarters. Malachi Flynn, who had played only seven minutes all month, had a strong stint, as did Jeff Dowtin Jr. Thaddeus Young continues to be completely out of the rotation, even with Barnes and Achiuwa unable to play.
THREE STARS VS. PACERS
1 Andrew Nembhard
2 Fred VanVleet
3 Pascal Siakam
Honourable mention: Bennedict Mathurin, Jakob Poeltl, TJ McConnell
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