Back on track
Relaxed Raptors get their groove back.
INDIANAPOLIS— The Toronto Raptors are better than the Indiana Pacers. It’s simple, right? OK, let’s qualify that: the Raptors are better when they’re not playing scared, playing stupid or, presumably, playing drunk. When the Raptors don’t play like they’re worried they might have their passports revoked, they are the team that should win this playoff series.
Maybe that’s too easy to say, after a Game 3 in which the Raptors smoked the Pacers 101-85 for a 2-1 series lead. The Raptors shot the ball almost as badly as they did in their Game 1 freakout, and the game was never in doubt. Because they’re better.
It was easy to say before the series, too: Toronto’s regular season was miles better than Indiana’s mediocre campaign. The only thing that makes it an even remotely radical statement is that abysmal Game 1, when everyone flashed back to the Washington Wizards. Toronto was supposed to be the better team then, too.
But really, come on. The Raptors barely got anything from hill monster Jonas Valanciunas, missed a pile of open threepointers, mucked up the final minute of the second quarter, and led by 17 at the half. The Pacers starters got beat; the Pacers backups got beat; the Pacers crowd got beat. Indiana is basketball country, and the main concourse of this building is a shrine. But the place wasn’t sold out, and was quieted early.
In the second quarter, Indiana coach Frank Vogel stubbornly stuck to his starter-free lineup against Toronto’s killer bench-plus-Lowry unit — you know, the one that built the margins that decided Game 2 — and the Raptors lead piled higher and higher. The canaryyellow T-shirts that were draped over seats were instead draped over bodies slumped in seats. At one point Vogel finally called a timeout, and the Pacers dancers performed in front of a shockedquiet crowd to the upbeat sounds of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” It was like a skit from a Christopher Guest movie.
Now, Toronto wasn’t playing in a vacuum, even if it felt like it for a while. The Pacers were bad. They threw the ball away. They watched as Kyle Lowry or Patrick Patterson or whomever was available beat them to offensive rebounds. They shot like someone had switched in a rugby ball. Paul George, after a fast start, was rendered mortal by the rejuvenated DeMarre Carroll. The Pacers and their crowd complained about the referees, though in fairness there were reasons to complain about the referees.
(Cheers to the fan who yelled, “they must have got a memo from the NBA.” Yes, the league is famous for its proCanada conspiracies. If we could harness the irrational emotions of sports fans, we could power every electrical grid in the world, and perhaps open a Starbucks in Alpha Centauri in our lifetime.)
Toronto missed 10 of their first 12 shots in the second half, and the lead fell from 17 to 15. They shot 7-for-27 in the third quarter, and the lead dropped all the way to 12.
It was back to 20 again four minutes into the fourth. No sweat. In Game 1 Toronto played, as Lowry put it, “like trash,” and it was a three-point game with four minutes left. Well, this was Indiana’s version of a trash game, and the last time it was a one-possession game wasn’t even midway through the first quarter.
Lowry is shooting 15-for-47 in this series, and the Raptors had a shot at all three games.
“I’m just missing shots,” Lowry said before the game. “I get some good looks, but I’m just missing shots. They defend very well, but I’m missing shots, and DeMar’s missing shots, and even Jonas missed shots in Game 1. It’s just a make-or-miss league, and shots gonna fall sometimes they will, sometimes they won’t, but it’s about doing other things to win games.”
He did that, and they did that. Basically, barring injury, there are two or three ways the Pacers can realistically win this series. One: Paul George could go for 50 points a night, and get help from his team- mates. Two: The Raptors could spend all their off-hours partying with Drake and Rihanna. Three: Larry Bird discovers a time machine, and brings 1986 Larry Bird back to start at power forward.
OK, maybe realistically is too strong. Maybe the Pacers get hot, and Toronto goes even colder. Maybe the Raptors revert to Game 1 jitters, but it doesn’t look like it. The Pacers are built to defend the way mud is built to muck up your shoes, but they just don’t have a lot of players who scare you when they have the ball.
If the Raptors find a way to lose this series, somebody should get fired. Before the game, coach Dwane Casey was asked if his team had played a good game yet.
“It’s hard to say: some guys have, some guys haven’t,” said Casey. “I don’t think we’ve maxed out our effort at both ends of the floor.”
Lowry led the way, playing with his whole heart, and Toronto was ruthless. This franchise, as we say every since year, has never won a best-ofseven playoff series. But the Raptors are the better team in this series, and it ain’t that close. Two more wins, and they’ll prove it.