The Rap Up: Breaking down the Raptors' first round series vs. the Indiana Pacers

At an early glance, this series should lean pretty favourably towards the Raptors.

The Indiana Pacers haven't played well agaist the Raptors this season. They've won just one of four meetings in the regular season and got hammered earlier in April against Toronto's bench and reserves.

Yet both these teams are eerily similar. Almost like looking at themselves in the mirror.

The Pacers have been one of the best defensive teams in the league. They get steals, and they capitalize off those turnovers. That has led to give them the 3rd best defensive rating in the league.

Toronto ranks just outside the top 10 in that category, but boast a more effective counter-attack. The Raptors play at a slower pace, but aim to get at the free throw line to rack up their points. The Pacers, on the other hand, settle for mid range shots when running their half-court offense.

The Indiana Pacers are a good test and should be a stepping stone for the Raptors in round one.

Both Toronto and Indiana own some of the best defensive lineups in the league, and this series could very well come down to which team can shut down the other.

The similarity hasn't come out of the blue. Coach Dwane Casey was a defensive assistant coach and was Rick Carlisle's right-hand man with the Dallas Mavericks back in 2011.

Carlisle was previously in the captain's chair in Indiana before he was let go, and the Pacers were looking to add a defensive-oriented coach. They eventually found their man in Frank Vogel.

The Pacers are somewhat retooling after their championship window came to an end when Paul George suffered that horrifying injury at U.S.A. camp in 2014. Gone is defensive stallwart Roy Hibbert, as is the gritty and talented David West and versatile sixth man Lance Stephenson.

The Raptors, on the other hand, are still growing into a perennial contender.

Here are some key points the Raptors need to emphasize to control the series:

Win Game 1: The Raptors have never won the first game of a playoff series, but that trend needs to get busted this year. Home court advantage is incredibly important in the postseason, especially for a team trying to get out of the first round for the first time since 2001.

Play the mismatches: The 6'7" DeMar DeRozan will be facing off against a 6'3" Monta Ellis. While Monta may be shifty, his defensive personality is a huge mismatch for a player like DeRozan, who likes to post up on the low block and work from there. With that height discrepancy, the Raptors should take advantage of DeRozan's strengths. Eliis' defense is better suited for cutting the passing lanes and finishing on the fast break.

Share the load defensively against Paul George: The key for Toronto will be how to handle Paul George. With DeMarre Carroll slowly coming back from injury, it's doubtful he will be the only one trying to slow PG down. Dwane Casey said it before, you can't keep one guy on Paul George all night. Fortunately, the Raptors have an arsenal of players ready to step up, and who can share the daunting task of guarding the two-time All-NBA selection.

Play Raptors basketball:

I'm not trynig to be vague. Raptors basketball is simple. Defense (!), Iso ball and DeMar DeRozan needs to do his thing and get to the free throw line. Kyle Lowry needs to attack the basket and make George Hill and Ty Lawson work on defense.

The pick and roll will be a go-to option with Jonas Valanciunas and Bismack Biyombo. The Pacers bigs have been on and off this season. Ian Mahinmi is a stout post defender, but the Raptors can take advantage of rookie Myles Turner on the inside.

Both teams have some X-factors that could shift the advantage either way. The Raptors have seen the best of Norman Powell recently and keeping him rolling would be wise. On the other hand, Solomon Hill has also come along offensively in April. The Raptors must be sure to make him work for his points.

The Pacers are going to rely on their defense and their outside shooting to put up a fight. But guys like Ellis and C.J. Miles have been hit or miss all season long. Indiana is going to live and die by the three or the mid-range shot more often than not. It's entirely possible that those two and PG can steal a game away, but keeping it up for four games will be tough.

Toronto also has the edge when it comes to the bench. Cory Joseph, Terrence Ross, Patrick Patterson and Biyombo are all talented enough to be starters on other teams. James Johnson and more recently Norman Powell have also been playing well enough for the Pacers to gameplan against, giving the Raptors a 'pick your poison' advantage going into the series.

Prediction: Raptors in five

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