The Toronto Raptors face the Indiana Pacers for the second time in a week as the two teams renew a budding rivalry.
Going through a slogging seven-game playoff series against a team is a surefire way to establish a legitimate feud, but there are plenty of reasons beyond their 2016 first-round matchup to expect the sparks to fly on Friday night at the Air Canada Centre — and none bigger than the matchup at shooting guard between DeMar DeRozan and Lance Stephenson.
You may recall Stephenson’s end-of-game layup in the dying seconds of an already-lopsided 108-90 Pacers win this past April, labeled “bush league” by Raptors head coach Dwane Casey in his post-game remarks. The Raptors — namely DeRozan and P.J. Tucker took offence, leading to one of the team’s greatest photos in recent memory.
Stephenson is one of the league’s best-known instigators with a knack for frustrating his opponents, and will look to do so once more when he comes off the bench to guard DeRozan. The Pacers guard played the Raptors’ all-star physically during last week’s matchup, and got under his skin with some rough play:
DeRozan, clearly frustrated, scored just 13 points in that game, the third-lowest mark this season, though he’s since bounced back thanks to a 30-point outing on Wednesday on an efficient 14-of-22 from the floor.
As for Stephenson, he’s been playing quite well as of late, and scored 13 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter— including a game-clinching layup— when these teams met last Friday, a 107-104 Pacers victory in Indianapolis.
The Raptors will have to worry about far more than just Stephenson. The 12-10 Pacers have surprised many around the NBA, thanks to stellar contributions from Victor Oladipo, who leads the team with 22.8 points after being traded from Oklahoma City for long-time Indiana star Paul George, as well as a deep pool of solid talent that includes Myles Turner, Darren Collison, Bojan Bogdanovic, Domantas Sabonis, and Thaddeus Young— all of whom are averaging double digits in scoring.
Throw in a bench unit built around Stephenson and Cory Joseph, who makes his first return to Toronto after being dealt to the Pacers for C.J. Miles, and Indiana looks nothing like the basement-dwellers many expected them to be heading into the season.
The Raptors have their own issues internally, namely their performance coming out of halftime. In three recent games, versus the Pacers, Knicks— two losses— and most recently the Hornets, Toronto posted an ugly minus-58 mark in the third quarter. It led to a fiery post-game address from Dwane Casey to his team following Wednesday’s win, and will be something to monitor tonight and going forward.
Apart from that, the Raptors have been playing solid basketball, getting steady contributions from their all-star backcourt of DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, as well as a bench unit that remains among the best in the NBA.
After easy wins against the lowly Atlanta Hawks and the Kemba Walker-less Charlotte Hornets, tonight’s matchup with a sneaky-good Pacers team offers a far greater challenge in what should be another close game between these two teams.
Raptors Player to Watch
It’s safe to say Lowry has gotten over the shooting slump that defined the start of his 2017-18 season. After shooting just 32 per cent from beyond the arc over the Raptors’ first 10 games, Lowry has nailed 48.2 per cent of his 8.5 three-point attempts per game over the last 11 outings, culminating in a season-high 36 points on 8-of-11 from deep on Wednesday night versus Charlotte.
Lowry is averaging 20.6 points, 7.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds, and one steal per game while shooting over 51 per cent from the floor in his last 11 games. In related news, the Raptors are 8-3 in that span.
He, along with backup Fred VanVleet— who leads the NBA in net rating with 20.6 and is second in defensive rating— will have to come up big again against an unspectacular-but-solid point guard duo in Collison and Joseph.
Pacers Player to Watch
This was supposed to be the season that the Pacers handed the franchise over to Turner. But after suffering a concussion during the first game of the season, the 21-year-old centre saw his stature diminish as the team flourished without him behind the all-star-calibre play of Oladipo.
Turner may not be “the man” in Indiana yet, but he’s coming off a string of impressive performances. His ability to stretch the floor beyond the three-point line (43 per cent over his last seven games) and protect the paint (an NBA-best 2.5 blocks per game) should make him a focal point for the Raptors and could mean a long night for Jonas Valanciunas and the Raptors’ crowded frontcourt.
The Stat
Poor third-quarter efforts, and already one loss to this same Pacers club be damned, home court has served the Raptors well so far this season:
The Raptors and Pacers tip-off at 7:30 PM ET with live coverage on SN590 The FAN.
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