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

[Courtside]

Yes, out of the top 4 seeds Philly was the most preferred matchup. Does that make us favorites to win the series?

It's real weak to parade around about this matchup but then to fall back and start stuttering about developmental years when you get pressed about both outcomes. Makes you sound scared imo.

Sixers in 5.

Toronto had a 27-win season in 2021. Masai Ujiri said "We’re not a team of now, there are going to be growing pains" and Raptors fans were debating whether 2022 should be a tank season. That the Raptors are in a development year isn't really up for debate.

There was no "parading around about this match-up." It was ~3-way tie between PHI, MIL & BOS and fans were asked which match-up they prefer. That's it, no parading or disrespect. If you're taking it any other way, you're seeing something that's not there.

Finally, there's no link between (1) being a development team and (2) preferring to match up against Philly instead of BOS or MIL. May have been said with bravado but there's no connection, the 2 are independent. . No one is scared. Again, you're seeing something that's not there.

He knows it's not there. He thinks he's playing clever mind games with Raptor fans, but the content of his posts couldn't more clear case of projection if he was Matt Gaetz calling us a bunch of pedos. It's that weak.

[User_denied]

Best match up possible for the Raptors. Picked them in 7 but can totally still them losing to Philly.

Raps do their best when they play rosters with 1 way players and Philly has more of them then any other Eastern contender. Siakim has his best chance to go off. He's at his worst when he's matched up against an athletic bigs that can present size but keep up with him on his speed. Philly just doesn't have that defender (Embid has the size but not the foot speed, Thybulle has the speed but not the size).

Raptors also hunt mis matches and run ISO's. It's their primary offence and these guys will both have big targets on their head. I expect who ever they are guarding to be involved in a ton of pick and roll actions.

Bad/Below Average Defenders
-Niang
-Harden

Lots of Options to bring a double from since spacing can be an issue with Philly. If this stat is tracked I'm betting your going to see a record amount of double teams from the Raptors in this series.

Bad/Below Average Spot up 3pt shooters
-Thybulle
-Harden
-Korkmaz
-Milton

It's undeniable Philly has higher top end and overall talent. But they also have more players with individual weaknesses that can be exploited then any other contender. Raptors are built to take advantage of those weaknesses.

It's going to be a fun series! A true test of talent vs matchup.

[User_denied]

Best match up possible for the Raptors. Picked them in 7 but can totally still them losing to Philly.

Raps do their best when they play rosters with 1 way players and Philly has more of them then any other Eastern contender. Siakim has his best chance to go off. He's at his worst when he's matched up against an athletic bigs that can present size but keep up with him on his speed. Philly just doesn't have that defender (Embid has the size but not the foot speed, Thybulle has the speed but not the size).

Raptors also hunt mis matches and run ISO's. It's their primary offence and these guys will both have big targets on their head. I expect who ever they are guarding to be involved in a ton of pick and roll actions.

Bad/Below Average Defenders
-Niang
-Harden

Lots of Options to bring a double from since spacing can be an issue with Philly. If this stat is tracked I'm betting your going to see a record amount of double teams from the Raptors in this series.

Bad/Below Average Spot up 3pt shooters
-Thybulle
-Harden
-Korkmaz
-Milton

It's undeniable Philly has higher top end and overall talent. But they also have more players with individual weaknesses that can be exploited then any other contender. Raptors are built to take advantage of those weaknesses.

It's going to be a fun series! A true test of talent vs matchup.

Just read what I wrote. This really is Hardens worst matchup. Could honestly see him being a liability on both Offence and Defense. His talent alone could still make him a + player if he's creating enough and able to find his way to the hoop on drives. But this could get ugly for him.

[Ref_from_hell]

I am fairly confident the raptors are going to win this series. Raptors are trending in the right direction. A lot of their players are going to benefit from this rest. We have the definite coaching advantage. We have the length. Two of our three best players have won a championship and know what it takes in the playoffs. When the raptors starting five is fully healthy, they can compete with anybody. Playoffs are very much about match ups. We match up very well with the Sixers. We match up very poorly with the Celtics.

Sixers are enigmatic. On paper they should be a very good team capable of making at the minimum the East finals. But they look like they're trending in the wrong direction. Harden is a shell of himself. It doesn't help that they have a bad coach whose terrible at in game adjustments. I see Doc rivers similar to Casey in the 2017/2018 playoffs. Once the raptors have defeated the Sixers in six games, he will be fired and replaced with Mike D'Antoni. I'd bet money on that.

[aminiaturebuddha]

The Raptors are absolutely the favorites and it feels tremendous as a Sixers fan to not have that burden of being expected to win this one.

Legacy series for Siakam, Barnes and FVV right here.

Lol? The Raptors have no pressure in this series. They weren’t even expected to be in the playoffs

Going in to this season, Masai called this a development year and we managed to make the playoffs. Getting playoff experience for guys like Scottie, Gary, and Precious is already a W in itself for us, win or lose

All the pressure is on the team that has an MVP candidate and made a blockbuster trade at the deadline for a guy who’s gonna be 33 this offseason.

There’s no possible way to twist the narrative of this series being pressure or “legacy series” for the Raptors

Seems like everybody expects you to win. Pressure has shifted.

Don't take this board as indicative of the overall narrative though. The ESPN poll of its writers went 12-5 in favour of the Sixers. However, every voter had it going 6 or 7.

[rzzzzz]

Man, I got to feel for Embiid. Dude is playing so well, he just needs a little help. Maxey will hold up his end, of course. Mainly, I can’t believe the negative waves Thybulle has just broadcast. He took a shot for the Olympics, doesn’t mention any problem from that, but being raised with alternative medicine made him hope he could keep quiet and get by? What the hell is that? Embiid would specially train and learn a new move if he thought it might advance the team through just one playoff series.

But then Doc getting all bent out of shape when asked to comment on how well B Ball Paul played the last game. How’s than not a good thing to have a young, athletic big who can fill in the 8 or 9 minutes while Embiid is sitting, and the team not give up a quick double digits? But Doc is so stubborn, and then concerned how bad his being stubborn looks, he’s got to lash out. (Not playing Bassey as well is doubly damning. What is it with this guy about preferring too old for prime time players?

[mulamutti]

With teams like the raptors, miami or celtics, you just know that you can't win easy or scheme away to an easy victory. I would expect the 76ers to put maximum effort from the first minute. They'll focus on executing to perfection, and put maximum effort on defense, blocking out and rebounds. Doesn't mean that they will win, but this is not going to be a regular season raps vs 76ers matchup.

The issue for the 76ers is that they have to turn on all these habits, that they haven't during the regular season. Versus the raptors, who've really honed in on their defensive identity, intensity and are very used to constantly changing schemes even within the course of a game. The raps are super confident and don't have anything to lose. The 76ers have all the pressure, and immense pressure on Harden and Glenn Rivers.

[Duffman100]

Raptors fans being going on for weeks about how they wanted this matchup because they're our kryptonite and having the war codes to suffocate us into an easy submission, but then also trying to hang onto the upset card if they so shall not win is pussy.

Pick a side.

Yes, out of the top 4 seeds Philly was the most preferred matchup. Does that make us favorites to win the series?

It's real weak to parade around about this matchup but then to fall back and start stuttering about developmental years when you get pressed about both outcomes. Makes you sound scared imo.

Sixers in 5.

It's pretty clear. This is the best first round matchup the Raptors could hope for and we've clearly play Philly well.

But this season was never about 'winning it all' for the Raptors. We were predicted by most (myself included) to be back in the lottery. So the series is 'found money'. We win great! That was unexpected. We lose, well that sucks...but nobody was expecting playoffs anyways.

It's not scared. Just what the expectations were.

[mulamutti]

Yes, out of the top 4 seeds Philly was the most preferred matchup. Does that make us favorites to win the series?

It's real weak to parade around about this matchup but then to fall back and start stuttering about developmental years when you get pressed about both outcomes. Makes you sound scared imo.

Sixers in 5.

It's pretty clear. This is the best first round matchup the Raptors could hope for and we've clearly play Philly well.

But this season was never about 'winning it all' for the Raptors. We were predicted by most (myself included) to be back in the lottery. So the series is 'found money'. We win great! That was unexpected. We lose, well that sucks...but nobody was expecting playoffs anyways.

It's not scared. Just what the expectations were.

Its precisely these low expectations, from fans/media/Masai, that helps ease the pressure on the raptors. They can play a lot more freely. Contrast that to many seasons from the recent past when they finished top 4 in the east and had to play in game 1 and 2 in Toronto with huge expectations.

I'm just super excited as a raptors fan, that Barnes, precious, OG, GTJ and even our bench is going to get very important playoff experience and minutes. Regardless of what happens, this season will be seen as a success. At the start of this year, there was so many unknowns for the raptors, and most didn't even expect this team to make the playoffs; play-in was a best case scenario. Next year raps have a lot of known proven players and schemes, and so there'll be a lot more pressure next year. Heck if they play next season as well as the second half of the season, they would likely be a top 4 east team. But this year, raps fans should just enjoy the ride regardless of outcome, with no stress.

[fbalmeida]

I'm optimistic. My guess is that the Raptors are perfectly capable of splitting the first two games in Philly.

At that point the series shifts to the Scotiabank minus Thybulle. If the Raptors win the first game, with the Nurse possession-game concept putting Doc in a full nelson, it's a 2-1 lead. At that point the 76ers locker room vibe may very well have morphed into something out of the Island of Doctor Moreau and the series may be essentially over.

The Raptors would win both games at home, and then close the 3-1 series in Philly.

Raptors in 5.

[dWadeOwnzYou]

I will go with the law of consistency here.

The Raptors in their last 10 game is 8-2. 80% winning %.
The 76ers in their last 10 game is 6-4. 60% winning %.

In their head to head match up, the Raptors lead 3-1 in the regular season (with their only lost comes during a pre-Harden trade).
Factor in Thybulle vacination issue...

The Raptors will win in game 6.

[LoveMyRaps]

This series kind of has that Bucks vs. Heat 2019-20 Round 2 series feels...

[stormi]

Yes, out of the top 4 seeds Philly was the most preferred matchup. Does that make us favorites to win the series?

It's real weak to parade around about this matchup but then to fall back and start stuttering about developmental years when you get pressed about both outcomes. Makes you sound scared imo.

Sixers in 5.

It's pretty clear. This is the best first round matchup the Raptors could hope for and we've clearly play Philly well.

But this season was never about 'winning it all' for the Raptors. We were predicted by most (myself included) to be back in the lottery. So the series is 'found money'. We win great! That was unexpected. We lose, well that sucks...but nobody was expecting playoffs anyways.

It's not scared. Just what the expectations were.

So are y'all good or not? Because y'all keep playing both sides.

I personally think y'all are round 1 fodder, so I guess we're all in agreement here.

Good luck.

[Duffman100]

It's real weak to parade around about this matchup but then to fall back and start stuttering about developmental years when you get pressed about both outcomes. Makes you sound scared imo.

Sixers in 5.

It's pretty clear. This is the best first round matchup the Raptors could hope for and we've clearly play Philly well.

But this season was never about 'winning it all' for the Raptors. We were predicted by most (myself included) to be back in the lottery. So the series is 'found money'. We win great! That was unexpected. We lose, well that sucks...but nobody was expecting playoffs anyways.

It's not scared. Just what the expectations were.

So are y'all good or not? Because y'all keep playing both sides.

I personally think y'all are round 1 fodder, so I guess we're all in agreement here.

Good luck.

We're not playing both sides, you aren't actually reading / listening to what's being posted.

[fbalmeida]

I think there are three clear reasons for Raptors' optimism:

1. Nurse > Doc
2. Thybulle missing away games
3. Clear Raptors advantage in the possessions game

[Wolfgang630]

This is too a lesser extent like Golden State vs Dirk’s Mavs. Remember Golden State had their number in the regular season and the Mavs were a #1 seed. No one was expecting GS to win a championship, but sometimes you just have good matchups against certain teams.

Toronto has that on Philly. Toronto ain’t winning a championship, but this is a matchup they’ve won in the regular season. This is good for them. Their young players will get great experience for what should be a long series.

[LoveMyRaps]

It's real weak to parade around about this matchup but then to fall back and start stuttering about developmental years when you get pressed about both outcomes. Makes you sound scared imo.

Sixers in 5.

It's pretty clear. This is the best first round matchup the Raptors could hope for and we've clearly play Philly well.

But this season was never about 'winning it all' for the Raptors. We were predicted by most (myself included) to be back in the lottery. So the series is 'found money'. We win great! That was unexpected. We lose, well that sucks...but nobody was expecting playoffs anyways.

It's not scared. Just what the expectations were.

So are y'all good or not? Because y'all keep playing both sides.

I personally think y'all are round 1 fodder, so I guess we're all in agreement here.

Good luck.

You lack comprehension skills.

[Meeksology]

I like being the underdog with upset capability.

The Raptors are absolutely the favorites and it feels tremendous as a Sixers fan to not have that burden of being expected to win this one.

Legacy series for Siakam, Barnes and FVV right here.

Its actually quite the opposite.
Sixers are definitely expected to win this one and move on well past the 2nd round, evident by the all-in move to acquire Harden. Anything less than say, an ECF appearance, would not be considered a good year for the Sixers. And losing to the Raptors in the first round would be a tremendous failure for ur ball club.
The Raptors however, werent even expected to make the playoffs. This was our developmental year. making the playoffs (let alone the 5th seed) is graaavy. Its been said many times in this thread but I'll echo it again because it rings true, Raps are playing with house money.

[skones]

Toronto just doesn't have the collective experience or the top end talent. Think Philly makes work of this in 6.

Millsap, Embiid, Harris, Harden, Niang, Green, Jordan. That's a lot of vet experience to ignore here.

[ConSarnit]

Toronto just doesn't have the collective experience or the top end talent. Think Philly makes work of this in 6.

Millsap, Embiid, Harris, Harden, Niang, Green, Jordan, Millsap. That's a lot of vet experience to ignore here.

You haven’t watched 1 second of these guys play this year have you?