On the NBA Beat Ep. 33a: How Do Raptors Overcome “Ghosts of Playoffs Past” With Joseph Casciaro, Ben Gibson - a podcast by Lineups

With the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers deadlocked at two games apiece, there's ample anxiety around the Raptors and their fan base. And it's only natural for a franchise that has struggled mightily in recent postseason play. Paul George's stifling defense and explosive offense have certainly not made life easy for the No. 2 seed. However, both our guests, The Score's Lead Basketball Editor, Joseph Casciaro, and Ben Gibson, Assistant Editor for Pacers blog 8 Points, 9 Seconds, agree that the Raptors will emerge victorious and go on to explain why. Delectable excerpts can be found below: 2:14-2:37 Joe Casciaro on DeMar DeRozan’s struggles on both sides of the ball:“They’ve gotta to get something from DeMar DeRozan, because right now they’re literally getting nothing. He’s been awful offensively; Paul George has dominated him on that end with his defense. The other thing, too, is DeMar’s been very inattentive on the defensive end. He’s never been a great defender. He’s not the kind of guy that you’re gonna put on the opposing team’s best player, but he’s also not usually this bad, and he’s just been atrocious on both ends of the floor.”2:54-3:29 on overcoming DeRozan's poor play by moving theball:“I think, even outside of DeMar, this team can win with DeMar not playing well if they’re generating good looks for everyone else, if they’re moving the ball…As much as the ghosts of playoffs past haunt this team, I just think they’re such a better team than the Pacers that at some point in this series it has to show, and I think it will over the next couple games.” 5:39-6:10 JC on George's stifling of DeRozan: “The only other player I really remember doing this to DeMar consistently is Jimmy Butler whenever the Bulls play the Raptors. Paul George has just completely shut him down. He’s in his face. DeMar doesn’t have a lot of space...I don’t know if it’s the screens not being set right or what it is, but George is having no problem getting through them and just sticking with DeMar. They cannot get DeMar away from Paul George no matter what they try."   10:17-11:43 JC on Toronto's history of playoff woes:“The last couple years, the Raptors have embraced that with the whole “We, the North” thing and using the outsider mentality as a source of strength, but at the back of everyone’s mind is still this angst about the playoff ghosts and the demons and ‘Are they truly relevant, can they be relevant unless they make a deep run?’ and ‘Are they even good enough to make a deep run?’ Despite the regular-season success – and they have been one of the more consistent teams over the last three years – if you can't get out of the first round after all this, something with the fabric of your team is obviously wrong.”15:18-15:49 JC on Jonas Valanciunas' quest to limit foul trouble:“You’ll notice, a lot of times with Jonas, it seems to be kind of brain farts, I guess you’d call them. Don’t get me wrong… there’s been a lot of bad calls against him this series. But there’s also been a lot of times where the hands will be up and he’ll be practicing the art of verticality, and then at the last second he kind of slaps down to try to swipe the ball and those are when they call them. So for him, I guess he has to just be more disciplined, stick to the principles…and also hope that the refs give you the benefit of the doubt.”    17:47-19:36 on the Pacers needing more offensive h...Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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