Game #44: Philadelphia 76ers 95 - Toronto Raptors 107

[Jclaw]

1:23		Norman Powell defensive goaltending violation	114 - 111
1:03		Fred VanVleet makes 14-foot step back jumpshot	116 - 111
42.6		Fred VanVleet makes free throw 1 of 2	117 - 113
42.6		Fred VanVleet misses free throw 2 of 2	117 - 113
14.2		Fred VanVleet makes free throw 1 of 3	118 - 115
14.2		Fred VanVleet makes free throw 2 of 3	119 - 115
14.2		Fred VanVleet makes free throw 3 of 3	120 - 115
9.8		Fred VanVleet makes free throw 1 of 2	121 - 117
9.8		Fred VanVleet makes free throw 2 of 2	122 - 117

It got a little close there but nice to have VanVleet close it out with the last 8 points.
Coach Nick got a bit too cute by half there but you can see how he wanted to let the bench ride that one out.
Any win is a win on the march to 2nd.
Which brings us to our next foe.
The 76ers.

Before we meet them all, let's meet their head of the snake

Let's say one side is Joel and one side is Ben
Both pretty accomplished on their own
But put them together and the result is not so impressive.

To continue on a theme,
we're more like this

Gasol 6/7 (Wiz) FVV 7/8 (Wolves) Norm 6/9 (Hawks)
(from 3)
We're good with taking turns. Who's going to be next?

As for the game, it's the toughest matchup we've had in a bit.
As noted, Philly tends to play better with only one of their big 2 on the floor.
That's the case for this game with Embiid on the shelf
Which is too bad because I was all set up to use some JoJo Rabbit memes (it's probably for the best)

So who will we face? Well, the Sixers and I have some history (see Mothers Day 2019)
So I'll have to come up with some new ones. Here goes..

PG

SG

SF

(this is a deep Friends dive. Kudos to whoever get's it)


PF

C

I could be as creative as I want to end this off. But, from now til the end of time..
When you discuss the Raps and Philly...
You can ask anyone and only one thing will come up
Or you can ask google and strangely something else comes up




But here's the one that matters

Go Raps

[Dr Hannibal Lecter]

Well at least I can watch this game..let's go Raps. Any word on Embiid?? Is he gonna play..

[G__Deane]

Gasol has been fresh and delivering (quiet 14 and 5 yesterday while not affecting his D at all) and has been playing well managed minutes since his return from injury.

Does he have yet another virtuoso performance coming against Embiid? Let's go!

[DanH]

Gasol has been fresh and delivering (quiet 14 and 5 yesterday while not affecting his D at all) and has been playing well managed minutes since his return from injury.

Does he have yet another virtuoso performance coming against Embiid? Let's go!

Well, I hope he doesn't play like he did yesterday, the starters in general were pretty rough but Gasol was as slow as anybody out there.

I much prefer games like Minny where he puts up 4 points and we win his minutes to games like yesterday.

Against Philly, if Embiid plays, I couldn't care less if Gasol puts up a zero so long as Embiid has a bad time of it trying to score himself.

[G__Deane]

Well, I hope he doesn't play like he did yesterday, the starters in general were pretty rough but Gasol was as slow as anybody out there.

I much prefer games like Minny where he puts up 4 points and we win his minutes to games like yesterday.

Against Philly, if Embiid plays, I couldn't care less if Gasol puts up a zero so long as Embiid has a bad time of it trying to score himself.

Fair enough.
But Marc can do both; play solid D, limit the opposition and put up more than a zero. It's not one or the other, I have faith in him lol

[DanH]

Fair enough.
But Marc can do both; play solid D, limit the opposition and put up more than a zero. It's not one or the other, I have faith in him lol

Sure, I just don't care if he does both. He CAN do stuff, when the team needs him to, and I'd rather he do it when needed than just blindly hope for it all the time. It's a long season, I don't need Marc putting up averages for 82 games.

[MixxAOR]

In the words of Great Demar Derozan "I call him an old school Cutlass. He can get you to where you gotta go but don't rely on him for any road trips" Apply that to Gasol

[Jclaw]

Isn’t Embiid out for a while? Hand surgery and all?

[DanH]

Isn’t Embiid out for a while? Hand surgery and all?

He was cleared for non-contact work on the 16th, and is due for a re-evaluation this week. Should very likely mean he misses our game but it sounds like he's close enough that there's no guarantee either way.

[G__Deane]

Isn’t Embiid out for a while? Hand surgery and all?

Embiid still out as far as I know.

"The 76ers, however, have turned to their suffocating defence to keep them afloat without Embiid. Philly holds the second-best defensive rating in their six games prior to Monday's victory. Only the Milwaukee Bucks has had a better defence during that time per NBA Stats."

Great story here on Embiid. You have to feel a bit sorry for the guy, a lot of tragedy for a young guy to handle.
https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelph...layers-tribune

"All summer, every time someone posted that picture of me and Kawhi [Leonard] staring at the ball hanging on the rim, I didn’t even click away. I wanted it to be burned into my brain as motivation. And you know what? In the end, those guys deserved the title. They played harder than everybody else — period. Every single guy on their squad did all the little things they had to do to win. It was a lesson that we needed to learn as a team, and I think we’re still learning it this season."

[nba_4_life]

Embiid still out as far as I know.

"The 76ers, however, have turned to their suffocating defence to keep them afloat without Embiid. Philly holds the second-best defensive rating in their six games prior to Monday's victory. Only the Milwaukee Bucks has had a better defence during that time per NBA Stats."

Great story here on Embiid. You have to feel a bit sorry for the guy, a lot of tragedy for a young guy to handle.
https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelph...layers-tribune

"All summer, every time someone posted that picture of me and Kawhi [Leonard] staring at the ball hanging on the rim, I didn’t even click away. I wanted it to be burned into my brain as motivation. And you know what? In the end, those guys deserved the title. They played harder than everybody else — period. Every single guy on their squad did all the little things they had to do to win. It was a lesson that we needed to learn as a team, and I think we’re still learning it this season."

Im sorry but the teams they played against are not teams that are noteworthy. The nets twice,the bulls and the knicks... 3 of those games they almost lost...

[Ebonhawke]

Mavs and Clippers currently on TV - no PG13 for the Clips - Porzingis back for the Mavs. Dwight Powell injured in the first quarter for the Mavs = more Boban!

[Jclaw]

It pains you to read it but still...

"Scotiabank Arena has not been kind to Philadelphia across the last nine months, to put it mildly. Of course, it was the site of Kawhi Leonard’s historic shot of a million bounces, which ended the Sixers’ 2019 title hopes in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals last May. Then, in late November, the Raptors came out on top again, winning 101-96 in the game Joel Embiid was held scoreless. Truly unbelievable events take place in this building, and they all seem to conspire against the Sixers."

https://www.libertyballers.com/2020/...phia-76ers-nba

[bertarapsfan]

Raps 7 point favorites. Seem pretty steep line, vegas expecting a pretty easy win for the good guys.

[Zak24gege]

Im sorry but the teams they played against are not teams that are noteworthy. The nets twice,the bulls and the knicks... 3 of those games they almost lost...

Their stats have for sure benefit from playing against weaker teams, however, our 4 game win streak hasn't been against the stiffest of competition either (yes OKC has a surprisingly respectful record). Tonight's game should help put some perspective on where we stand relative to one of our EC rivals, the 76ers. Given Embiid is out, the importance of this mid-season match-up is low, it does give us a chance to see our now healthy Raptors square off against a team with championship aspirations.