NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference – Round 1
Tip-off: Sunday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Miami -5.5, Total: 189.5

Both the Pacers and Raptors will be hoping to advance to the second round when the teams meet in Toronto for Game 7 on Sunday.

The Raptors had a chance to end this series in Game 6, but the Pacers came out and dominated that one in Indiana. They won 101-83 as 1.5-point favorites in that one and a huge reason for that was their defense. The Pacers held the Raptors to just 36.7% shooting from the field and they also shot an impressive 46.1% themselves. Toronto will need to figure it out on both ends and the team will need to do it fast. One trend that sticks out when looking at this one is that the Pacers are 20-7 ATS when playing four or less games in 10 days over the past two seasons. They are, however, just 8-22 ATS in road games after five straight contests allowing a shooting percentage of 42.0% or less over the past three seasons. Both teams come into this game at full strength, so injuries should not determine the outcome of this one.

A chance to get to the second round is not something that was guaranteed going into Game 6, but the Pacers now have exactly that. If Indiana is going to come away with a victory then SF Paul George (27.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 4.8 APG, 1.8 SPG in playoffs) will need to be on his game. George had 21 points in a Game 6 victory over Toronto and has been pretty much unstoppable throughout this series. He now has a chance to bring it home for Indiana and must capitalize in this Game 7 matchup. It’s also important that George locks in defensively. He can’t afford to let DeRozan go off on Sunday. PG George Hill (12.7 PPG in playoffs) and C Myles Turner (11.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 3.2 BPG in playoffs) are the two guys that are going to need to provide the most help for George. Hill is a good shooter and plays very hard on both ends of the floor. He must knock down his threes and do his best to limit Lowry in this game. Turner, meanwhile, needs to protect the rim and continue to show toughness on the offensive boards. He has been generating second-chance opportunities and also hits a ton of midrange shots.

The Raptors are going to face a ton of criticism if they do not win this game and they could also be seeing a major roster shakeup as well. For that reason, the team is going to need to deliver in Game 7 on Sunday. If Toronto is going to emerge as the winner in this game then the team will need big performances from both PG Kyle Lowry (14.3 PPG, 7.3 APG, 1.3 SPG in playoffs) and SG DeMar DeRozan (15.8 PPG, 1.3 SPG in playoffs). These guys have not been playing their best basketball in this series, but that will need to change on Sunday. Lowry needs to be aggressive going to the basket, but he also needs to make a few threes in this game. He has not been providing enough floor spacing in this series and that has really hurt Toronto. DeRozan, meanwhile, must hold his own in his matchup with Paul George in Game 7. That will mean that DeRozan must score a lot of points and also dig in on the defensive end when called upon.