The Toronto Raptors will look to bounce back from an ugly Game 1 loss on Monday when they host the Indiana Pacers for Game 2 of their first round playoff series. The game tips off at 7 (not 7:30) at the Air Canada centre, and you can find it on NBA TV (U.S.), TSN 1, 3, 4, and 5 (Canada), or Sportsnet 590 (radio).
Required reading
I can’t imagine anybody wants to read any more about Game 1 at this point, so here’s what you need ahead of Game 2.
*The preview, which contains links to all of the Game 1 stuff, if you still need it.
*Potential rotation adjustments for Game 2.
*Practice notes and quotes.
*Shootaround notes and quotes.
And read this from Zach Lowe, absolute nails on the Raptors. That guy is so damn good.
Raptors updates
Head coach Dwane Casey has hinted at potential rotation changes but is playing that close to the chest until the last possible minute. “We’ll see. Do I have to announce it now? Ok,” he said before the game. The guess here is that someone falls out of the Game 1 rotation and DeMarre Carroll sees a larger role, should be cleared to do so (he was capped at 20 minutes Saturday).
UPDATE: The Raptors will start Carroll, with Norman Powell moving to the bench.
We covered the potential fall out from this move earlier, and while it’s a tough break for Powell, who doesn’t “deserve” it, this is the playoffs, and Carroll was brought in to be a George-stopper. The Raptors probably didn’t want to start Carroll at the four, forcing DeMar DeRozan onto Lavoy Allen (though Allen’s not a post-up threat), or they didn’t want to move Luis Scola to the bench, where he’d be useless against a smaller Pacers second unit (though there’s really no reason to be playing Scola much at all). Starting Carroll makes all the sense in the world, regardless of who he replaces, as he’s the team’s best chance on George. If Carroll’s still on a minutes limit, it makes even more sense, ensuring his time is maximized opposite George.
This will also serve to free up DeMar DeRozan. Chasing Monta Ellis isn’t an easy assignment, but it’s a less physically demanding one, and DeRozan should have additional energy for the offensive end. With the exception of the very best two-way players (George, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler), it rarely makes sense to task your top scorer with guarding the other team’s highest-volume offensive player. It’s simply too taxing. It’s not even a knock on DeRozan, it’s just not the best way to use your best assets.
The hope for Powell fans has to be that he finds minutes with the second unit, but that might be tough. Casey wanted to shorten the rotation, and while Terrence Ross has his detractors, his shooting and off-ball movement are monumentally important for the bench, and he’s been a key part of many of the Raptors’ best two-way lineups. It sucks for Powell, but he surely understands he was a Carroll fill-in, and he’ll be the next man up if anyone stumbles (or if Ross is indeed now on the fringes of the rotation).
Starting Carroll’s the right call. Starting Patrick Patterson would have been nice, too, but that might be too much change and might threaten the effectiveness of bench groups. This move keeps the Lowry+bench and DeRozan+bench units in tact without altering the rotations.
I’d write more, but I already did! Check it out here, but here’s a snippet:
Start DeMarre Carroll, stop playing him without Paul George on the floor: If Powell goes to the bench in favor of Carroll, then Powell’s out of the rotation entirely, unless he takes Ross’ spot. As noted above, that’s tough, but Carroll was brought in specifically for assignments like George, and he’s the team’s best perimeter defender. He remains on a minutes limit, and starting him ensures that his minutes are maximized opposite George – Carroll played five minutes with George on the bench, which seems like a ridiculous misuse of assets.
Assuming Lucas Noguiera and Bruno Caboclo draw inactive again and Casey rolls with the same starters, here’s what the rotation will look like:
PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, (Delon Wright)
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell, Terrence Ross
SF: DeMarre Carroll, (James Johnson)
PF: Luis Scola, Patrick Patterson, (Jason Thompson)
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Bismack Biyombo
Pacers updates
The Pacers also remain healthy. Like with the Raptors, any lineup changes will be kept to Frank Vogel and company until the last possible minute, though the Pacers will probably stick with Lavoy Allen at the four until the Raptors force them into a counter. Vogel sounded really pleased with his Game 1 rotations.
Assuming Rakeem Christmas and Shayne Whittington are your inactives again, the rotation will look something like this:
PG: George Hill, Ty Lawson, (Joseph Young)
SG: Monta Ellis, Rodney Stuckey
SF: Paul George, Miles, Solomon Hill, (Glenn Robinson)
PF: Lavoy Allen, Myles Turner
C: Ian Mahinmi, (Jordan Hill)
Pre-game notes/quotes
*Dwane Casey said the phrase “compete with poise” about a dozen times between shootaround and pre-game. Apparently, he wants the Raptors to compete with poise, especially in the game’s closing minutes.
*Expect more involvement for Jonas Valanciunas so long as he stays out of foul trouble. “No question, we’re gonna try,” Casey said about getting Valanciunas more touches. He pointed to it helping the team’s balance, spacing, pick-and-roll attack, and so on. Valanciunas was huge in Game 1 and can really take advantage of the impressive Myles Turner if they’re matched up. If Valanciunas manages his way around foul trouble, I’d expect him to play in the neighborhood of 33-35 minutes. He’s very important in this series.
*On Valanciunas and Terrence Ross being taken off their game by light fouls, Casey said, “You’ve gotta compete through that at this time of year.”
*Frank Vogel said the Pacers will approach the game like a must-win, as they did Game 1. Nothing changes just because they’re up. (Umm, duh.) There are always things they want to do better – he highlighted keeping Valanciunas off the glass and keeping the Raptors off the glass – but he’s sounded pretty comfortable with his gameplan for a few days now.
*On well-used timeouts, Vogel said timeouts don’t stop momentum, good plays do. Sure, but Vogel’s timeout decisions were terrific.
Assorted
*Kyle Lowry received one third-place vote for Defensive Player of the Year. He did not deserve it. Shout out to Eddie Sefko for the vote, but it’s a bad one, although not even close to the worst. Sorry, KLOE.
*Fans will get an awesome purple tee tonight, but we’re told the Raptors will not wear purple. It’s just something different general manager Masai Ujiri wanted to do for the fans.
*If you’re going to the game, get loud. Don’t let a bad start shackle your enthusiasm. It’d be really nice for the Raptors to have that behind them, and it would probably earn the fanbase a fair amount of credit for sticking with these guys through seven consecutive playoff losses.
“Good luck with your deadlines.” – Vogel to the media. What a mensch.
The line
In Game 1, the Raptors opened as six-point favorites and the line moved to Raptors -6.5 by tip-off. This time out, the Raptors opened even stronger as seven-point favorites, with the line edging to Raptors -7.5 as of 5:30. I know this means nothing to a lot of people, but it reflects a market confidence in the Raptors bouncing back – there are surely some fading the Raptors until they adjust, or taking those points in what should be a tight series, anyway, but the line can move when big sharks or heavy money goes the other way consistently. Raptors -7 suggests confidence in the team is only really floundering in Toronto.
Raptors 99, Pacers 94
