A common theme for the Toronto Raptors this season has been their toughness and effort. Due to numerous injuries that have plagued their roster all season long, Toronto has had to go into many games undermanned and fighting an uphill battle and last night was no different. Before the game it was announced Toronto would be without star forward Scottie Barnes for the contest, which is a huge blow to not only their offense, but their defense as well. This was somewhat mitigated by the return of Jakob Poeltl, but overall it had major implications on the outcome of this game. Instead of lying down and admitting defeat against Indiana, this group kept clawing back into the game for as long as they could, and they really made Indiana work for their eventual 111-91 victory.
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has not been able to recreate the season that he had last year in his breakout All-Star campaign, but he is still an immensely talented player who can directly change the outcome of a game, and that is what he did last night. Haliburton opened the game by knocking down four triples in the opening period, a number of which were well behind the three-point line and soared through the air for what felt like forever before dropping in. Although Haliburton got out to this hot start, Toronto was still in this game because of their activity on defense.
In the first quarter alone Indiana Pacers had 9 turnovers, many of which Toronto used as an opportunity to score on the other end, and keep this game within striking distance. Darko Rajakovic’s high pressure defensive scheme sometimes bears wondrous fruit and this fruit is used to allow Toronto to compete in games they likely wouldn’t be able to keep up in under different circumstances.
Offensively it was a very committee type of game. No Toronto player scored over 20 points, but they had 6 players finish in double figures. There were plenty of moments where the offense seemed stagnant, unable to generate a good look against the looming outreached hands of Myles Turner, but with so many extra bites at the apple due to turnovers, Toronto was able to score eventually. Immanuel Quickley looked spry as an on-ball driver last night, bursting his way to the rim and either getting a shot up or firing passes to his big man and whoever was in the weak side corner.
Raptors rookie Jonathan Mogbo, not known for his offensive touch and paint scoring, gave the Raptors a desperately needed 16 points off the bench. Mogbo simply was the perfect play finisher, allowing his teammates such as Quickley, who has been trending upward, to find him under the rim, using his defensive instincts to get steals and subsequently looks on fastbreaks.
Mogbo showed some good signs of understanding the nuances of off-ball scoring as a big last night, slipping screens at the most opportune time to find himself with a clear lane to the basket. Cutting at the right time when his teammate is driving and draws in his man, and just lingering in the dunkers spot for easy looks. His touch looked as good as it ever has last night and it was an overall encouraging game for the rookie.
Toronto did well defending their former star Pascal Siakam, not allowing him to simply isolate and create one on one against their defenders, sending digs on some of his creation attempts. Turner knocked down 5 out of 5 three point attempts, often making one to halt the Raptors numerous comeback attempts, and stifle their hopes at victory. Rookie Ja’Kobe Walter was extremely active on the defensive end, using his quick feet to body up against guys and be very stout on the ball. With Poeltl back patrolling the paint, Indiana did not have a conga line to the basket, and this game was truly won by them behind the three point line.
Even with Haliburton’s explosion Toronto kept fighting in this game, but there was a run in the third quarter that ultimately put this game out of reach for Toronto. Toronto did not run out of effort, they simply just weren’t able to outlast such a good team for the entirety of the game, which is to be expected when they were as undermanned as they were. But for this team to still show grit and fight game after game, no matter who’s in the lineup, bodes well for the future.
