10 things: Raptors bench badly outplayed, while VanVleet fades in fourth

Here are 10 takeaways from the Toronto Raptors' 122-114 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

1. Just like their previous meeting, the Raptors ran out of gas down the stretch in Indiana. The Pacers overcame a slow start and played with a relentless pace throughout, with two full lineups contributing to wearing down the Raptors in the end.

It was a competitive game and one of contrasts, with the Pacers being stocked with guards against a Raptors side flushed with wings, but Toronto was unable to impose its style of play. The Raptors were outworked on the offensive glass, forced only one more turnover than they committed, and could not contain dribble penetration.

Instead, the game was played at the frenetic pace that the Pacers imposed, and they won out in the end.

2. Toronto's starters played well, racking up 107 points while building up leads in the first and third quarters. Having shuffled through nearly 20 starting lineups due to injuries and experimentation, Nick Nurse returned to his original starting group and saw many of the same benefits.

With five players who could all create a shot, the Raptors were flowing offensively to start especially since their jumpers were falling. Indiana regained momentum in the transition lineups as bench players filtered in, and Toronto's level of play noticeably dropped with each incoming reserve.

It's the same trend that played out last season until Chris Boucher and Precious Achiuwa asserted themselves as difference makers off the bench, with Thad Young joining them after the trade deadline. However, none of those three were able to have the same impact in this game and that's where the game was lost.

3. It's hard to overstate just how bad the second unit was, as they were outscored 54-7 by their counterparts. In the first half, T.J. McConnell bullied Malachi Flynn to such a degree that Flynn conceded five line drives for layups, including two and-ones until he mercifully got the quick hook.

In the second half, it was Bennedict Mathurin who took over with some impressive shotmaking to keep Indiana in front. There wasn't much resistance from Boucher and Young, who were mostly invisible save for their late contests at the basket, and Boucher once again ended up benched after just four minutes. Achiuwa was making his return from injury in nearly two months and was understandably shaky, so Nurse's solution was just to cut them off entirely and ride the starters.

Both coaches played 10 deep in their rotation, except only five players contributed for Toronto compared to nine for Indiana, and it's no surprise that the deeper team had more legs to close out.

4. Fred VanVleet's empty showing really stuck out on a night where all the other starters excelled. Nurse was quick to compliment VanVleet's defence in switching onto Tyrese Haliburton for the second half, but that faded at the end of the game with multiple Pacers blowing past VanVleet, which created layups and open threes.

Meanwhile on offence, VanVleet was wide open twice for threes in the fourth including one that could have tied the game, but came up short both times which allowed the Pacers to break the other way. VanVleet's role was already reduced to spotting up, as point guard duties had been ceded to Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes, so if he's not making the outside shot, while also being a target on defence, then it creates serious issues for the team.

There's no doubt that VanVleet's bad back likely played some role in this, but his inconsistent health doesn't mask just how low some of the lows have been this season. This is already the 17th game this season where VanVleet has made five or fewer baskets on sub-45 per cent shooting.

5. The Raptors continue to underperform on defence. That's not to say there aren't flashes of potential, such as when the Raptors pressed Haliburton into seven turnovers, or a play in the fourth quarter where O.G. Anunoby, Christian Koloko, Barnes and Achiuwa all blocked a shot at the basket on the same defensive sequence. But they were also lacking discipline in how often they conceded fouls, and also in focus with the way Indiana was able to score in transition even after made baskets.

The Pacers are not an easy team to defend in the slightest given how many playmakers they have, but the Raptors did the hard part of getting the stop more often than not in the halfcourt. Where they fell short was protecting the defensive glass, bailing out possessions with fouls (the most regrettable being Siakam diving for a loose ball with 0.2 seconds left on the clock), and not making a fully committed effort to get back. Toronto is not the type of team to trade baskets with any team since its offence is just middling on a good day.

6. Nurse always preaches pace of play, and almost every Raptors player has the green light to bring the ball up, but rarely does it ever approach the level of chaos that the Pacers create.

Of late, the Raptors rely too heavily on finding the safe hands of Siakam, Barnes, or VanVleet rather than looking to break immediately with the advance pass. But the bigger limiting factor is how little shooting the Raptors have. Indiana can just push the ball and feed someone sprinting to the corner, or create an open three just off a quick slipped screen, whereas the Raptors almost exclusively create threes off methodical drive and kicks. At one point Siakam and Anunoby missed transition threes, and Nurse called a timeout to remind them to slow down.

7. Indiana gave Barnes the Ben Simmons treatment. Rick Carlisle decided to have Myles Turner sag so far back off Barnes that there were plays in the first quarter where Turner would be at the charge circle while Barnes handled it at the three.

Barnes didn't look to shoot early on, and instead opted to initiate dribble hand-offs or to set screens to create 2-on-1's for his teammates to attack. The approach worked as Barnes was able to transfer that separation onto his teammates with firm screens while VanVleet, Trent Jr., and Siakam all got clean looks. Barnes collected eight assists and had an additional seven screen assists as Toronto's best distributor on the night.

8. Barnes scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half. He did well as a distributor early on, but was also able to find ways to get downhill. Siakam found him on a drive and dish where Turner stepped up for the shot contest, leaving Barnes free for the dunk. There was also a similar sequence where Turner left to contest a rebound that he missed, which freed Barnes to finish the putback. Barnes also rolled to the basket as the defence stepped up to run Trent Jr. off the line, and then was able to attack Turner three times just in isolation for hook shots over the shot blocker.

The Raptors have consistently played Barnes at centre in the last two weeks, in part because these are looks where he can comfortably find his offence. The challenge is to keep battling defensively, which Barnes has also excelled at as of late, switching between chasing point guards to wrestling bigs down low.

9. Trent Jr. produced back-to-back 30-point games by once again pairing well with Toronto's big wings. Siakam commands so much attention in the paint on his drives that the kickout to the top is always open, and while that two-man game used to work with VanVleet, the better option of late has been Trent Jr. who is consistently making plays attacking closeouts or knocking in the open three.

Trent Jr. was also assisted four times by Barnes, both in the halfcourt in attacking Indiana's drop defence, and on the fast break. His strong play and clear chemistry with Toronto's core players begs the question: Why was there a public questioning of his fit on the team and why is his name in trade rumours?

10. Achiuwa was better in his second shift than his first stint after missing two months with an ankle injury. Achiuwa was noticeably gassed after just three minutes of play to start, and wasn't able to produce much on either end. He was better in the second half, logging eight minutes of play where he was able to collect an impressive block at the basket, and another one-on-one stand where he bottled up Haliburton's shifty drive before stuffing him at the rim. Once Achiuwa is fully up to speed, he will do wonders for the defence but clearly it might take him a while to fully recover.