 | Indiana | 100 | Final Box Score | 111 | Toronto |  |
 B+ | D. Carroll22 MIN, 12 PTS, 1 REB, 4 AST, 0 STL, 4-9 FG, 4-8 3FG, 0-0 FT, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 3 +/- Carroll brought the energy tonight after his coach defended starting him and while the defence was still spotty at times he knocked down some big shots including four threes. The “Three and D” man still needs to pick up the D part of the equation but this was a nice taste of what he could keep bringing down the stretch. | |
 A | S. Ibaka30 MIN, 15 PTS, 12 REB, 2 AST, 0 STL, 6-10 FG, 3-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 2 BLK, 1 TO, 6 +/- It’s tough to find a flaw in Ibaka’s game tonight. He shot well from the field, defended the rim, didn’t force anything and was huge from three. His ability to switch was on full display tonight and it’s hard to imagine what life was like without him *shudders*. | |
 A+ | J. Valanciunas28 MIN, 16 PTS, 17 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 5-9 FG, 0-0 3FG, 6-9 FT, 2 BLK, 2 TO, 13 +/- Seemed to be everywhere tonight, yes, even on defence. He racked up his 18th double-double of the year( a career high ) thanks to 17 huge rebounds.He was enormous in the third quarter and Matt Devlin almost lost his voice singing his praises. His two blocks were a nice addition and Casey even gave him run in the 4th. | |
 B- | C. Joseph29 MIN, 6 PTS, 2 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 3-5 FG, 0-2 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 0 +/- Didn’t do anything spectacular tonight but sometimes that’s what you need from your point guard who is just trying to hold down the fort. CoJo took just five shots and made three of them and he distributed the ball well enough to get his teammates open looks. | |
 A+ | D. DeRozan38 MIN, 40 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 11-26 FG, 3-4 3FG, 15-20 FT, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 14 +/- If there was a grade higher than A+ we’d dish it out. DeRozan hit the 40 point plateau for the 7th time this year (all Raps wins) and tied Vince Carter for the most 30 point games in a season. He was relentless attacking the rim and even drilled three from deep including a nasty bomb late in the 4th in Paul George’s face. He received some MVP chants at the line late and he’s certainly been the most valuable Raptor lately. | |
 A- | P. Tucker27 MIN, 8 PTS, 7 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 3-8 FG, 2-3 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 9 +/- Plus/Minus isn’t everything but it’s pretty fitting that Tucker was a +9 despite scoring just eight points tonight. His defence continues to astound and his energy is infectious. Him and JV bumped chests late in the second half and the energy from it could have stopped space and time. He’s going to be so, so fun in the playoffs. | |
 B- | P. Patterson21 MIN, 3 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 2 STL, 1-5 FG, 1-4 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 9 +/- Like Joseph it was a relatively quiet game for PatPat. He made just one field goal (but at least it was a three) and failed to grab a single rebound. Still, he defence was elite throughout the game and with the way DeRozan and Valanciunas were playing it was more than enough to earn a decent grade. | |
 B+ | D. Wright21 MIN, 11 PTS, 2 REB, 6 AST, 0 STL, 4-5 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2-4 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 5 +/- Wright is still inconsistent, but at least he was on the right side of it tonight. He played loooooooong and showed off some aggressive ball-handling in his 21 minutes. He nailed the only three he took and finished with the same amount of dimes as CoJo in eight fewer minutes of action. The Pacers were respecting his ability to score all night and he passed out of double-teams like a seasoned vet. | |
 B | J. Poeltl14 MIN, 0 PTS, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0-1 FG, 0-0 3FG, 0-2 FT, 0 BLK, 0 TO, -1 +/- His 14 minutes make it seem like Poeltl played a big part in this game but a quick look at all the 0’s in his boxscore and it’s easy to see he wasn’t a big factor. The B is for eating up some minutes to give Ibaka and JV rest. | |
 C- | N. Powell10 MIN, 0 PTS, 2 REB, 0 AST, 1 STL, 0-4 FG, 0-1 3FG, 0-0 FT, 0 BLK, 1 TO, -3 +/- The General was a non-factor tonight and spent a lot of time on the bench thanks to the strong play of Carroll and Tucker. It’s not the end of the world that Powell was on the bench thanks to his team playing well, but his lack of production during his ten minutes wasn’t a great sign either. He still has so much trouble finishing at the rim. | |
 A | Dwane Casey There wasn’t a lot Casey had to do tonight thanks to the way DeRozan was playing but he stuck with JV down the stretch after Valanciunas earned it and he defended starting Carroll with the old “you don’t lose your job just because you’re injured” line. Casey deserves an A every time the Raptors win without Lowry and he was working the refs for many of Derozan’s trips to the line. | |
Things We Saw
- JV getting angry. Valanciunas was all over the court tonight and took some real pride in playing defense. Whether it’s a placebo effect or not having Tucker on the court, JV seems to want to impress his tough teammate. He finished a ferocious reverse at the rim late in the game as well and for all the crap he takes he looks ready to prove the haters wrong in the playoffs.
- PG silenced. Ok, “silenced” might be a stretch for anyone who finishes with 28 points but the Raptors did an excellent job of locking down George who normally roasts, toasts and sticks the Raps on a bun.
- The black and gold jerseys are ugly. I’m not the first to say it and I won’t be the last, but I just wanted everyone to know where I stand.
