April 09, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers power forward Tyler Hansbrough (50) shoots the ball against Toronto Raptors power forward Ed Davis (32) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeated Toronto 103-98. Mandatory credit: Michael Hickey-US PRESSWIRE
Toronto Raptors Off Season Recap
The Toronto Raptors tried to bring in fellow Canadian, Steve Nash, but it wasn’t made to be.  Nash ends up signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, which who could blame him?  What did the Raptors do then?  They end up signing Kyle Lowry to a deal.  Then in a move to block the Knicks from signing Steve Nash, Toronto offered Landry Fields a deal, which backfired on them.  The Knicks never offered Nash a deal, and didn’t match the Fields deal, so the Raptors had to sign Fields to a bigger deal than they should have.  Fields is coming off a bad season, which is why it seems unreasonable to sign him.  But maybe he can turn it around this coming season, and do something for Toronto.  Adding to the point guard position in Toronto, John Lucas III is heading up north as well.  Jose Calderon is there as a point guard as well, so the Raptors have quite the dilemma with that position.  Three other names brought back by the Raptors are Dominic McGuire, Aaron Gray, and Alan Anderson.  Some names that probably won’t mean much in the long term future of Toronto.
The short term future of this team is probably lottery bound. I can’t see the Raptors making much noise in the East with teams improving and the top teams still being good.  Jose Calderon might be gone at the trade deadline, and who knows what this team could look like after that.  This team would be best served with some veteran presence as it’s a young team, but not very talented.  Lowry could be good, but will it matter?  Toronto won’t be relevant this season, and who knows when they’ll be back to a playoff team.
 Indiana Pacers Toronto Raptors Match Up
A team that can contend and a team that wants to get to something like that.  I keep going back to the same point that the Pacers should beat a team like the Raptors.  They want to show they’re for real in the Eastern Conference, then you have to win these games.
It’s another thing I keep coming back to, but the Pacers should look to Roy Hibbert and David West as big time scorers in this match up.  Can Andrea Bargnani stop Roy Hibbert in the post?  I don’t think so, therefore Hibbert should have good games against the Raptors.
The Pacers will have to be leery of the guards of the Raptors, especially if Lowry wants to have a good series against a good team. Â Calderon could look to score and be aggressive against the Pacers, but I think George Hill will slow him down.
This is where the defense of the Pacers can step up and show that they’re a hard nosed defensive team.  Win by double digits and call it a game.
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