 | J. Thompson 20 MIN | 3-7 FG | 2-2 3FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 1 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | +11 +/- At one point in the third, he went on an 8-1 run by himself – six of those points came from back-to-back threes. What a pick-up he’s turned out to be. Assuming Scola’s minutes will be limited during the post-season and match-ups don’t allow for Carroll to slide in at the four, Thompson could be a nice fix. |  |
 | J. Johnson 28 MIN | 3-7 FG | 0-2 3FG | 3-4 FT | 5 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 9 PTS | +14 +/- He passed the Paul George match-up test with flying colours – sort of. George will get his stats come post-season, but Johnson scored on the Pacers’ guard with ease, and George looked pretty helpless defending JJ in the block. Having Johnson attack George seems like a good strategy if the opportunity arises. Oh, uh, this was nuts.
|  |
 | J. Valanciunas 21 MIN | 5-7 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 4 TO | 10 PTS | +4 +/- Nice scoring game from Valanciunas, but his outside jumper look awkward as hell – as if he was channeling his inner James Naismith throwing darts at the peach basket. He also struggled passing the ball out of the post on double teams. | |
 | C. Joseph 33 MIN | 6-6 FG | 2-2 3FG | 2-3 FT | 1 REB | 9 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 16 PTS | +10 +/- One of his better games of the season acting as a floor general. Splitting the defence, dishing dimes, and getting to the rim – CoJo was just really active and efficient all-around. |  |
 | N. Powell 40 MIN | 4-10 FG | 2-3 3FG | 14-19 FT | 6 REB | 4 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 24 PTS | +12 +/- He continues to impress – undaunted by the opposition he faces. He’s scoring in bundles, and anytime he was switched onto Paul George he contained the all-star well. Encouraging signs heading into the post-season. Also, Demar-esque free-throw stats. |  |
 | P. Patterson 25 MIN | 1-5 FG | 0-4 3FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 2 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +14 +/- Quiet game from Patterson where he struggled knocking down his shoot, but he moved the ball well and played really nice defense. |  |
 | T. Ross 20 MIN | 6-13 FG | 2-6 3FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 14 PTS | -1 +/- This game was a flat-out humdrum until he came in and woke us all up with that slam-dunk. He’s fun to watch when he’s a go-to option on the court – weaving his way around through traffic off and sinking off-balance jumpers off the dribble.
| |
 | L. Nogueira 11 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-2 FT | 1 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 2 PTS | -1 +/- An A- in limited minutes – why not? This was a feel-good game for everyone and I’m feeling generous. He played nice defense on Jordan Hill and provided a nice outlet inside for Joseph to ping lobs to. | |
 | B. Biyombo 10 MIN | 1-1 FG | 0-0 3FG | 0-0 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +8 +/- I’ll be honest, I didn’t notice Bismack much tonight, quiet game from him. |  |
 | D. Wright 24 MIN | 6-10 FG | 1-2 3FG | 6-8 FT | 4 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 19 PTS | -1 +/- Ouf, this kid is pretty exciting. In a weird way, I haven’t been that impressed with him when I’ve seen him with the 905, but every time he plays with the A squad, he looks really promising. He’s so good at getting to the rim and finishing in traffic, and his assists to Powell were fun to watch.
| |
 | Dwane Casey Nothing to complain about tonight. He rested the stars, opted not to risk Carroll, gave the kids a burn, and in turn, burned the Pacers who had something to play for. | |
Three Things We Saw
- What was wrong with the Pacers tonight? They were absolutely brutal to watch, got out-gunned by the 905 core and couldn’t get anything going offensively.
Strange from a team that’s just trying to cement it’s playoff seeding,
- If there was ever a game to prove how beneficial having a D-league affiiliate is, it was tonight. It wasn’t just that Norman Powell and Delon Wright looked freakishly good, but it was the camaraderie and comfort levels that they boasted with each other. Truly impressive stuff.
- Again, I have to reiterate how encouraging it was see how well the Raptors – particularly Powell and JJ – contained Paul George. It’s crazy to think Powell has matured enough that he seems trustworthy to take an assignment like this in the playoffs. I spoke to Jack Armstrong today (more to come in next week’s column), and he mentioned that Powell will probably get more minutes than Johnson in the post-season – you can see why.
