Gameday: Raptors @ Pacers, November 15

Riding high off their best win of the season against the Eastern Conference favourite Cleveland Cavaliers, the Toronto Raptors are looking to close out a winning road trip on a high note in Indiana against the Pacers on Saturday night.

This is a much different Pacers team than the one that surprised the NBA with a compelling run to the finals full of miraculous moments in last season’s playoffs. It started, of course, with Tyrese Haliburton’s tragic Achilles tear in Game 7 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Then Myles Turner signed with the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency. Since the Pacers have grappled with a barrage of injuries to start the season – they lead the league in man games missed – including notable injuries to starters Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin and Aaron Nesmith.

Mathurin went down with a toe injury two games into the season and Nembhard was only four games into his return before Nesmith sustained a left knee sprain against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday. The Pacers’ already shorthanded starting lineup has seen little of the floor together, the results have been ugly and the Raptors will look to capitalize.

Pacers Outlook

Record: 1-11 | 14th in Eastern Conference
Offensive Rating: 104.4 (30th) | Defensive Rating: 118.7 (25th) | Net Rating: -14.3 (29th)

Nembhard has taken on lead ball-handler duties and Siakam is also shouldering an increased creation load without Haliburton. This paired with the pair’s defensive responsibilities is a huge load to bear. And even though they’re both outstanding players, the stress fractures are showing. Both players have higher usage, lower efficiency and worse defensive impact numbers.

The good: The Pacers have still been taking care of the ball, averaging the fourth-fewest turnovers per game and have also grabbed the third most o-boards. They’ve done well to win the possession battle.

The bad: They haven’t managed to do much with those extra possessions, with both their halfcourt and transition offence dropping from top 10 last season to 30th and 29th, respectively.

Raptors Outlook

Record: 7-5 | 7th in Eastern Conference
Offensive Rating: 118.0 (7th) | Defensive Rating: 114.4 (16th) | Net Rating: +3.6 (11th)

The Pacers struggled to guard a succession of down screens against Lauri Markkanen and the Utah Jazz on Tuesday. According to illustrious basketball writer Caitlin Cooper, the Jazz have been setting the highest volume of off-ball screens in the league. Well, I don’t have the synergy data, but the Raptors also set a ton of off-ball screens to my eye. Using Brandon Ingram’s gravity off similar pin downs and away staggers (actions they’ve often run for Ingram thus far) that the Jazz had success with against the Pacers could prove effective both on the primary action and flowing into secondaries.