Scottie Barnes dominates in star performance as Raptors beat Pacers

Raptors vs. Pacers. Two All-Stars, Scottie Barnes & Pascal Siakam vs. the other. Early on though, there was a far more prevalent matchup going on. The 2nd worst catch-and-shoot team in the NBA (Pacers) facing off against the 5th worst (Raptors). Both teams were without their big, good, white bigs to help them bludgeon the painted area. Jakob Poeltl of the Raptors, who has been dealing with a troublesome back issue for the better part of half a year, and Ivica Zubac of the Pacers who is dealing with recently being traded and new, bothersome maladies.

So, we were sat looking at a very low scoring game 15 minutes into the damn thing. 28-24, Raptors. Both teams stuck at a paltry 2/8 from downtown. Both teams south of 40-percent from the field. Both teams with talented lead men driving offense, but with very tough jobs in creating the types of shots that typically go in for their respective teams. Caught up in the muck, the grit, and the grind was Collin Murray-Boyles and his thumb – which he aggravated, and left the game as a result of.

A perfect opportunity for new Raptor, Trayce Jackson-Davis, to step in and operate as a facsimile of sorts, providing some of the skill set that the Raptors lost in CMB. Of course, even the bad things can crop up, as we saw some of the hesitancy to rise up and finish on the inside that CMB shows, was quickly replicated by TJD who passed out of the short roll despite looking at the diminutive Andrew Nembhard as the low man on defense.

To that point, whether it’s CMB, Poeltl, or even an overtaxed Barnes, the Raptors can really use this upcoming All-Star break. Obviously it’ll be nice for Barnes + the young guns to partake in the weekend, but the rest and relaxation is really what the Raptors need from mid-February. The Raptors aren’t just a team that plays small and gets bashed around. They’re also a team that plays small, gets bashed around, and participates in a great deal of running for court coverage. They dig, they trap, they rotate, they work like hell. Then they crack down trying to keep big men in check.

Anyway, back to the game.

A game that the Pacers had gotten control of. Largely behind the creation of their big forwards, Siakam and Jarace Walker – who, the latter of which has been playing with far more punch and oomph lately. The Pacers work very hard to create mismatches for Siakam, and outside of the truly elite, MVP level guys, you’d be scarce to find a player better than #43 when it comes to stringing out doubles, timing them up, and locating his teammates for great looks. The Pacers played off of those advantages and found a groove scoring the ball. On the other side the Raptors were stuck in a great deal of mud when it came to the half court scoring. They were very cognizant of needing to push, and they were actually decently efficient while doing so, but the Pacers were just as mindful in wanting to slow them down and when the game was slow the Raptors were completely inept at creating or scoring. We’re talking less than 70 points per 100 possessions type efficiency in the first half. Dreadful stuff. Both teams were haunted by turnovers.

The Raptors probably felt pretty bad about being down 2 at half, but to my eye, there was a lot to fix. So, reasons for optimism.

A big reason for optimism in general? The Raptors All-Star, Barnes. He began the second half by stealing an entry pass to Siakam. Rotating over to block Nembhard at the rim. Finishing at the rim on the break. And finally, finding Ingram for a layup. He even had a big, and-1 drop step dunk over Furphy for good measure. In fact, the two All-Stars, Siakam and Barnes, were trading buckets to kick things off. My turn, your turn type stuff. Big forwards winding and creating towards the bucket. Good hoops. Only, Barnes’ scoring was bolstered by some outside shooting from Barrett and Quickley. It was one of the better stretches of the season for Barnes on the offensive side of the floor. A big burst of energy to start the second half for the Raptors. He vaulted them out in front and helped carry them through a massive 44-26 third quarter performance.

Barnes collected an accolade as well, as he surpassed Siakam for fifth on Toronto’s all-time double-doubles list with 103. Fun to do it with Siakam on the other end.

Also of note: Johnny Furphy injured his knee while landing (without contact from another player) after a dunk. Hopefully it isn’t too bad.

The Raptors were able to keep the Pacers beyond an arms length to start the fourth quarter behind the strength of another Quickley triple and a little bit of Jackson-Davis filling the lane as a runner/roller. On the other end, Barnes was still patrolling, marauding around. Almost as if he were the great beast of the Jaws film, slow piano key strokes would creep into the ears of the Pacers players as they dribbled toward the rim. Barnes, lying in wait, ready to leap from the depths, had 6 stocks (with 4 blocks) before the mid point of the fourth quarter. Over his last 8 games, and coming into this one, the NBA’s stocks leader had been supercharging his output to the tune of 3.5 per game. He ascended even higher against the Pacers.

Indiana didn’t have a starter clear 25 minutes in this one. They folded the tent in the third quarter. Even still, the Raptors kept the pressure on, they played hard and aggressive. They trapped and badgered the Pacers. They ran away with it.

A nice, professional win for the Raptors on Superbowl Sunday.

Have a blessed day.

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