How the Pacers Beat Toronto: Hitting 3s, Limiting Free Throws

The Toronto Raptors defense was above average this season. It wasn’t devastating, but solid across the board, particularly in terms of not fouling and cleaning the glass after forcing a miss.

The one area in which the Raptors struggle mightily, however, is defending the arc. Opponents hit a blistering 37.3% of their 3s against Toronto this season, second-worst in the league behind the Phoenix Suns (37.7%) and way over the league-average accuracy of 35.4%.

Essentially, everyone who shot 3s against the Raptors was as proficient as Damian Lillard (who shot 37.5% from 3-point range this year). Or you could say they became, oddly enough, Paul George, who finished sixth in the NBA with 210 made…