In the Post- Sixers Lose to the Raptors
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 26: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers battles for the ball with O.G. Anunoby #3 of the Toronto Raptors during the second half of their basketball game at the Scotiabank Arena on October 26, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The rough start to the 76ers’ season continued Wednesday night, dropping their fourth in five games. This time to their Atlantic Division opponent, the Toronto Raptors, 119-109. This was the first of back-to-back contests against the Raptors at Scotiabank Arena, the second will be played Friday night. The Sixers are going to need a much better performance in game 2 if they want to leave Canada with a split. Here are a few things that stood out:
- The lack of energy in the first half for the Sixers was very glaring. After scoring the first two buckets of the game and holding a four-point lead, the Raptors turned it up in the opening quarter with three more field goals, three more triples and were able to use the four turnovers by Philadelphia to score eight points off of their mistakes. They just always seemed a step behind with the energy and effort. The 76ers trailed by eight points after one, 35-27. This opening frame is what set them back and had them playing catchup the rest of the night, as the score was only two points off in favor of Toronto through the final three quarters.
- Every time the Sixers would close the gap, trimming the lead to six after trailing by double digits, pick a Raptors player and they made a play to start a run or hit a big three to extend the lead even further. Toronto came ready to play. Was it revenge from the 2022 Eastern Conference Playoffs where Philadelphia eliminated them in the first round? Or was it simply a bad matchup for the visitors and the home team knew that they could play with them and were unafraid? Whatever the answer is, the 76ers need to figure it out.
- Head coach Doc Rivers went with the small ball lineup in the fourth quarter, but it was the three-guard lineup of Melton, Maxey and Harden that was intriguing. Melton fit really well with the starting guards as he scored five in the final frame while adding four assists during his time with Maxey and Harden. The pace was good, they ran to push the tempo and wound up with good results. Would be very interested to see if Rivers tries that again in the future.
- Joel Embiid and Maxey paced the Sixers with 31 points each. They are going to need more help from their teammates on Friday as they look for win number two on the season. Harden finished with 18, P.J. Tucker added eight and Tobias Harris posted only three points on 1 for 5 shooting. Harris’ only points came on a made triple. That’s not going to cut it… more is needed to defeat that Raptors team.
- Should Matisse Thybulle take some of the 31-plus minutes away from Tucker because of his athleticism matching Toronto’s players? He may not be much of an offensive threat at this time, but he should be able to get out in the open floor a little quicker for possible transition buckets. It can’t hurt.
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