Eastern Conference | Round 1 | (4) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (5) Toronto Raptors (PHI 3-2)

[Black Mage]

Ooof! This couldn't have been timed any worse for a release:

https://www.theringer.com/2022/4/20/23032906/pascal-siakam-toronto-raptors-nba-playoffs

Article Headline:

"The Toronto Raptors forward has the size to go toe-to-toe with NBA big men and the skill to function as a wing or a point guard."

[SwaggyB]

A gentleman's sweep is ONLY when the winner of a 4-1 series, loses game 4 on the road, so they can close out at home in game 5.

So if the lower seed pulls off the upset, they can't possibly use the term gentleman's sweep?

No, they can't/shouldn't. The gentleman's sweep implies the loser of game 4 lost just to be nice, and let the other team win their last home game of the season, because they would rather wrap it up at home. If the lower seed loses game 4 at home, they didn't do it to get the chance close out on the road.

Makes sense.. is there a source for this as a definitive answer? Google seems to offer up various opinions.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Trash talk aside I think the Raps are in a pretty good position with the roster they have going forward. They have a young stud in Barnes and a lot of positional flexibility

[Sidthekid87]

Trash talk aside I think the Raps are in a pretty good position with the roster they have going forward. They have a young stud in Barnes and a lot of positional flexibility

Yeah, we'll be okay even if they just run it back with the same team with some minor tweaks, but it's just extremely disappointing that they're going down in this manner. Thought it would really be a back and forth series.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Trash talk aside I think the Raps are in a pretty good position with the roster they have going forward. They have a young stud in Barnes and a lot of positional flexibility

Yeah, we'll be okay even if they just run it back with the same team with some minor tweaks, but it's just extremely disappointing that they're going down in this manner. Thought it would really be a back and forth series.

Naturally I'm more inclined to believe this, but I really think it has more to do with people underrating the Sixers than it does the Raps disappointing

[GeorgeMarcus]

Does anyone know what happened to The Hater? Is he still active on the board?

[Anticon]

Main question I have is how good Philly actually is. They look like true contenders but hard to know how much is effect of an underachieving first round opponent down a starter.

Best things about them is the unselfishness and that they play free and easy. Could help them go a long way.

[Fairview4Life]

Does anyone know what happened to The Hater? Is he still active on the board?

Died of cancer several months ago.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Does anyone know what happened to The Hater? Is he still active on the board?

Died of cancer several months ago.

Holy **** that's terrible. Wow.

[DonaldSanders]

So you are okay with little guards like Kyle Lowry selling fouls cause they are smaller? And big guys can’t sell fouls. Let’s get real here. Kyle Lowry is a built like a tank and he will flop at the smallest contact.

No, not at all. What a bizarre conclusion.

Embiid takes a ton of punishment and can probably fight through min contact just like little guards like trae and Kyle. But little guards shouldn’t get a pass for foul baiting also. It takes a ton to really knock Lowry down but he will flip to sell the foul.

Punish everyone for flopping. If refs see a flop they should just not call anything.

[Black Mage]

Does anyone know what happened to The Hater? Is he still active on the board?

Died of cancer several months ago.

Holy **** that's terrible. Wow.

Ugh, awful to hear. ::sighs::

[RoyceDa59]

Philly fans deserve this tbh. They’ve had to go through their own ups and down to get this point. From Embiid injuries and immaturity early on, to a 7-bounce heart breaking series winning shot, to prime Jimmy Butler walking away from a contender to form another, to multiple coaches and finally the entire Simmons fiasco.

Finally they look like a team ready to win it all. Embiid has climbed the summit and is now legitimately unstoppable.

Even though they whooped our asses, I’ll still cheer for them as the playoffs continue. Wouldn’t mind Danny Green winning a 4th title with 4 different teams. And hard not to be a Maxey fan. I’d even find it amusing if Harden wins a ring before Brooklyn.

Raps have plenty of assets, cap flexibility and young talent, but we definitely need a shake up for next season. I’m Masai we trust.

[fbalmeida]

I find Embiid, Harden, Doc Rivers, and Morey hard to cheer for. Team-wise they remain the frankly beatable team I saw in the regular season. We haven't been remotely up to the task for multiple reasons, but that's beside the point.

When our title defense in 2020 washed upon the shores of a hammer screen play broken up by the hideous creature known as Marcus Smart, I instantly expected and wanted the Celtics to win it all in the bubble. A team that well coached winning it all would vindicate our defeat.

But apparently they had nothing left in them to take on the Heat and I haven't wished well upon them ever since.

I see nothing to vindicate with a 76ers title run if our 1st round exit pans out. They beat an unhealthy, young, and overachieving Raptors team that's missing at least one more shooter off the bench and a traditionally sized big.

[Black Mage]

I find Embiid, Harden, Doc Rivers, and Morey hard to cheer for. Team-wise they remain the frankly beatable team I saw in the regular season. We haven't been remotely up to the task for multiple reasons, but that's beside the point.

When our title defense in 2020 washed upon the shores of a hammer screen play broken up by the hideous creature known as Marcus Smart, I instantly expected and wanted the Celtics to win it all in the bubble. A team that well coached winning it all would vindicate our defeat.

But apparently they had nothing left in them to take on the Heat and I haven't wished well upon them ever since.

I see nothing to vindicate with a 76ers title run if our 1st round exit pans out. They beat an unhealthy, young, and overachieving Raptors team that's missing at least one more shooter off the bench and a traditionally sized big.

Man you must loathe your only team title then. Barely scraped by an unhealthy Sixers team. Then needed KD to go down to beat a wounded Warriors. Your Title is a fake, just put an * on it, cause it clearly was a fluke.

[Sisqo]

I find Embiid, Harden, Doc Rivers, and Morey hard to cheer for. Team-wise they remain the frankly beatable team I saw in the regular season. We haven't been remotely up to the task for multiple reasons, but that's beside the point.

When our title defense in 2020 washed upon the shores of a hammer screen play broken up by the hideous creature known as Marcus Smart, I instantly expected and wanted the Celtics to win it all in the bubble. A team that well coached winning it all would vindicate our defeat.

But apparently they had nothing left in them to take on the Heat and I haven't wished well upon them ever since.

I see nothing to vindicate with a 76ers title run if our 1st round exit pans out. They beat an unhealthy, young, and overachieving Raptors team that's missing at least one more shooter off the bench and a traditionally sized big.

Man you must loathe your only team title then. Barely scraped by an unhealthy Sixers team. Then needed KD to go down to beat a wounded Warriors. Your Title is a fake, just put an * on it, cause it clearly was a fluke.

You could come up with a list of reasons why every title is like that but you won't do that, you're going to just do it to try and take down the Raptors title. It shows how little you know about basketball because this happens so often. EVERY single title has some form of impact because of injuries along the way. It might be regular season giving a team a better playoff position, could be round 1 2 or 3, ect. You lost in 7 get over it, it was 2019 and you have a great team now so why cry?

[YogurtProducer]

Trash talk aside I think the Raps are in a pretty good position with the roster they have going forward. They have a young stud in Barnes and a lot of positional flexibility

Yeah, we'll be okay even if they just run it back with the same team with some minor tweaks, but it's just extremely disappointing that they're going down in this manner. Thought it would really be a back and forth series.

Naturally I'm more inclined to believe this, but I really think it has more to do with people underrating the Sixers than it does the Raps disappointing

In my opinion it has even more to do with FVV being injured (check his stats since January… it is ugly), GTJ being sick for game 1 and 2, and Barnes missing 2 games. For a team with limited depth, that’s an absolutely **** killer.

It’s probably 2–1 Philly right now if Toronto is moderately healthy and it’s still a competitive series.

Gonna be a shame we get a bunch of horrible Toronto hot takes all summer long because a depleted team is what people remember.

[YogurtProducer]

BK you talk about the refs more than anyone else

I don't think there's a Raptor fan in this thread who wouldn't say Philly is the better team

I mean, there was literally a 20+ page thread plus hundreds of posts across other threads specifically on the Raptors getting screwed by the reffing. Many many Raptors fans were taking pretty crazy stances to scapegoat the officiating. It was brutal to read and try to engage with, and it was still going very strong until like 12 hours ago.

There’s gotta be some kind of self-awareness or accountability among raps fans for that. There was easily 10 times as many posts about that as about anything else in the series, tough to just say ‘no ones saying that now, so it didn’t happen.’

This ALL DAY LONG.

And when you point out that their starting 4, Pascal Siakam, played 48 minutes last night and shot ZERO free throws - because he put ZERO pressure on the rim - and point out that maybe the reason for the foul call disparity in the series is because one team is pressuring the rim and the other team is settling for jumpers, all you hear are crickets. To be fair, when I brought this up last night, one Raptors fan (Sisqo) agreed with this, but the rest of the Raptors fans who have spent the entire series whining about the refs didn't seem to acknowledge this as a possible explanation for the disparity.

I think the Raptors have great young talent, and were one of the hottest teams coming into the playoffs (13-2 in their last 15 games). There was a legitimate reason why they were a trendy 1st round upset pick. I think it is ridiculous to talk serious smack before the series started, and then turn around and try to cop a "we're just happy to be here" narrative. That is weak f'k'n sauce. Just own the fact that you losing to a better team.

But they know that.

I mean I thought we had a chance before GTJ was out sick and Barnes got his ankle destroyed. Circumstances drastically changed very fast.

It also doesn’t change the fact the raptors are just happy to be here. This was a team projected to maybe be a play-in team, Philly was a team projected to be a contender to win the east.

Like congrats to philly… but winning against us right now isn’t a huge accomplishment it is literally the expectation.

[bebopdeluxe]

I mean, there was literally a 20+ page thread plus hundreds of posts across other threads specifically on the Raptors getting screwed by the reffing. Many many Raptors fans were taking pretty crazy stances to scapegoat the officiating. It was brutal to read and try to engage with, and it was still going very strong until like 12 hours ago.

There’s gotta be some kind of self-awareness or accountability among raps fans for that. There was easily 10 times as many posts about that as about anything else in the series, tough to just say ‘no ones saying that now, so it didn’t happen.’

This ALL DAY LONG.

And when you point out that their starting 4, Pascal Siakam, played 48 minutes last night and shot ZERO free throws - because he put ZERO pressure on the rim - and point out that maybe the reason for the foul call disparity in the series is because one team is pressuring the rim and the other team is settling for jumpers, all you hear are crickets. To be fair, when I brought this up last night, one Raptors fan (Sisqo) agreed with this, but the rest of the Raptors fans who have spent the entire series whining about the refs didn't seem to acknowledge this as a possible explanation for the disparity.

I think the Raptors have great young talent, and were one of the hottest teams coming into the playoffs (13-2 in their last 15 games). There was a legitimate reason why they were a trendy 1st round upset pick. I think it is ridiculous to talk serious smack before the series started, and then turn around and try to cop a "we're just happy to be here" narrative. That is weak f'k'n sauce. Just own the fact that you losing to a better team.

But they know that.

I mean I thought we had a chance before GTJ was out sick and Barnes got his ankle destroyed. Circumstances drastically changed very fast.

It also doesn’t change the fact the raptors are just happy to be here. This was a team projected to maybe be a play-in team, Philly was a team projected to be a contender to win the east.

Like congrats to philly… but winning against us right now isn’t a huge accomplishment it is literally the expectation.

It wasn't on the RealGM GB poll. The poll here picked the Raptors in 6.

So what is it - scrappy, overachieving team that is happy to be here, or trendy upstart who came into the playoffs 13-2 and convinced the voters IN THE POLL IN THIS VERY THREAD before the series started that the Raps were going to win?

Can't have it both ways.

[Johnny Bball]

What is funny is raptors fans whining about Doc being out of the box to call that TO. They could call that EVERY GAME on EVERY COACH.

Really? That is what you've got?

Harris got mugged on his shot at the end of regulation, but he was enough of a grownup to know that the refs weren't going to call that (he admitted as much in his postgame presser). Just like the refs aren't going to call a "coach out of the box" call in a tied playoff game with 3 seconds to go.

Raptors fans like you are INSUFFERABLE.

You've not answered any one single point because you're wrong all the way through, so now all you do is point fingers at everything else and call us names. Maybe I'll make it my day job just to rip these dumb posts to shreds for kicks. You're outclassed here, son.

And no, they wouldn't call it because that takes courage, but don't pretend the sixers didn't get a break, which was the **** point.

What - EXACTLY - was the "break"? Huh? Not making a call THEY FREAKING NEVER CALL?

That's the "break"?

Refs want the game decided on the court. That is why they didn't put Harris on the line. And that is why they did not make that RIDICULOUS "coach out of the box" call that Raptors fans are flooding the internet with - and being ABSOLUTELY (and rightly) RIDICULED for.

Bye, Felicia.

Your reading comprehension is as good as your basketball comprehension if you can't figure it out, which apparently you can't. Genius.

Ridiculed? You're the one that can't see what's happening on the court and thinks the raps aren't driving. The sole sum of your wisdom comes from talking heads. Pretty pathetic.

[bebopdeluxe]

You've not answered any one single point because you're wrong all the way through, so now all you do is point fingers at everything else and call us names. Maybe I'll make it my day job just to rip these dumb posts to shreds for kicks. You're outclassed here, son.

And no, they wouldn't call it because that takes courage, but don't pretend the sixers didn't get a break, which was the **** point.

What - EXACTLY - was the "break"? Huh? Not making a call THEY FREAKING NEVER CALL?

That's the "break"?

Refs want the game decided on the court. That is why they didn't put Harris on the line. And that is why they did not make that RIDICULOUS "coach out of the box" call that Raptors fans are flooding the internet with - and being ABSOLUTELY (and rightly) RIDICULED for.

Bye, Felicia.

Your reading comprehension is as good as your basketball comprehension if you can't figure it out, which apparently you can't. Genius.

Ridiculed? You're the one that can't see what's happening on the court and thinks the raps aren't driving. The sole sum of your wisdom comes from talking heads. Pretty pathetic.

Nice deflection. B!tching about the refs not calling Doc out of the box is about as weak sauce and loser take as there is. It is a joke. It would NEVER BE CALLED.

But you know that.

And go ahead and ignore the fact that your starting 4 played 48 minutes and shot zero free throws. ZERO.