Not all hope is lost for a potential playoff spot if you’re the Toronto Raptors. After back-to-back wins over Brooklyn and Atlanta, they’re now just 4 games back of the 10th seeded Hawks and a play-in tournament spot. With the news of Trae Young’s injury, there is a possibility that Atlanta could drop even further in the standings, if the Raptors make a run they could very well end up in the postseason. This team has traded away couple of really important pieces this season, they’re basically in rebuild mode moving forward, so everything they get from this season is a bonus. Both meetings against the Pacers have been close this season, Toronto won the opener by a single point on the road, then the Pacers got revenge by 2 points in Canada. That win from November was only the first one for Toronto in the last 5 head-to-head meetings.
Similarly to the Raptors, the Pacers too are catching steam with 3 wins on the bounce. They just took down one of the hottest team in the NBA the Dallas Mavericks last night 133-111. All five starters scored in double-figures, led by Myles Turner who had 33 on the night. Indiana is in a comfortable position in the standings, the 4th seed could be theirs with a few more wins, assuming the decline of the shorthanded Knicks and 76ers continues. This team has been on a dominant run in home games, winning 6 of their last 8. This being a 2nd game in less than 24 hours isn’t ideal, in this scenario Indiana has just 2 victories in 10 attempts this season. Tyrese Haliburton, who has been bothered by a hamstring injury, could get the night off as there is no point in further aggravating the injury which could ruin the entire season.
