WOLSTAT: From Naismith to Nembhard, the growth of Canadian basketball was on full display against Raptors

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Basketball started with James Naismith and now we’re here.

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Here, being Scotiabank Arena for Wednesday’s 118-114 Indiana Pacers win over the Raptors.

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The powers that be wisely picked the game as the season’s Canada Basketball Night and the Pacers went above and beyond in starting a hat trick of Canadians — rookies Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin and former Raptor Oshae Brissett, the first time three Canucks have started an NBA game. But Indiana didn’t just do it as a measure of goodwill, Mathurin’s been in the rookie of the year race all season and is also the highest-scoring reserve in the league (Indiana was missing star guard Tyrese Haliburton), Nembhard also should make the all-rookie first team and was the best second-round pick of the 2022 draft, while Brissett has been a useful piece ever since joining the Pacers.

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Nembhard fired off seven straight points at one point in the first quarter as the Pacers demolished the Raptors off the dribble and Mathurin rudely gave O.G. Anunoby a taste of his own medicine, surprising the standout defender with a chase down block of what Anunoby thought would be an easy layup. They were far from done. Mathurin was a pain defensively and also scored 15 points, while Nembhard was the player of the game, finishing with 25 points (his second-best scoring game yet), including a late dagger three-pointer, with 10 assists for good measure.

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“The game meant a little bit more for us three and I think we scored the first three field goals so that gave all confidence,” Nembhard said afterward.

And the three-pointer to sink the team he grew up watching and cheering for? “I knew I either had to get a shot or get to the paint and make a play. I was flowing, it was one of those ones where you’re just in the moment,” he said.

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Even though he played like he circled this date on the calendar ahead of the season, Nembhard said that wasn’t the case. “Honestly no. My preparation and everything leading up to the game was very normal. It felt like just another one, I didn’t feel too much pressure to play out of character, I just wanted to be aggressive. I knew Tyrese was going to be out so I would have the ball in my hands a little bit more,” he explained.

He did admit it’s surreal seeing so many of his countrymen playing in the NBA.

Like Brissett, who had nine points, including a vicious slam over Jakob Poeltl.

Mathurin said having them beside him has helped him “process going to the NBA” and added he pushed himself in rehabbing a recent injury to make sure he was ready for this one. “Looking forward to playing many more games in Toronto and hopefully have a lot of wins,” Mathurin said.

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Even Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, a champion as both a player and a coach, talked pre-game of his Canadian ties while growing up in Ogdensburg, N.Y., near Brockville, ON. “I grew up with no cable television, watching Hockey Night in Canada on Tuesdays and Saturdays because that’s all we got,” Carlisle said. “Saw a lot of Stanley Cups won, but back then, I don’t think anybody could see this (basketball run) coming,” Carlisle said.

“This country has become a real hotbed for basketball talent … What’s happened in in the last 10 years or so has been just something just off the rails, it’s just been crazy.”

Indeed, Canada has been the world’s second-leading provider of NBA talent for several years now (eclipsing France) and in the last 10 days alone, visiting teams started players from Kitchener (Denver star Jamal Murray), Hamilton (Oklahoma City all-star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), Aurora (Nembhard), Mississauga (Brissett) and Montreal (Mathurin).

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Perhaps the one negative of the sport’s massive leap is the impact it has on Canada’s lone NBA team.

In hockey it’s not uncommon to see the NHL’s many Greater Toronto Area-born players raise their games a notch or two when visiting the Maple Leafs. Gilgeous-Alexander and Andrew Wiggins have consistently gone off here, as have other Canadians and Nembhard was outstanding on Wednesday, clearly propelled by the many supporters he’d invited to the game.

“It was fun, knowing how many people were out there watching me, friends and family it gave me a certain sense of confidence,” Nembhard said.

“For it to happen in Toronto, it’s pretty cool,” Carlisle said.

“All three of those guys played well … Andrew set the tone for the game.”

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Indiana had won the previous two meetings this season — both at home — scoring at least 118 points in both and made it three straight by outplaying the home side.

Nurse credited Indiana’s admirable depth and quick style of play pre-game (the Pacers rank in the Top 10 in pace) for the trouble they seem to give the Raptors.

Indiana was expected to be one of the NBA’s worst teams entering the season, but has stayed in the play-in mix. That defied the prognosticator’s, who pegged the Pacers over-under at 23.5 wins, tied for the fewest with Oklahoma City (another overachiever) and Houston (who have met the low expectations and sit near the bottom of the standings).

The team can point to the play of its Canadians for some of its success. Perhaps never more than on a Wednesday night in Toronto.

@WolstatSun