2022 Playoffs Round 1, Game 6: 76ers @ Raptors, Thur April 28, 7:00pm EST, TSN

[slaw]

The unfortunate thing is he gets 2 full days off. In this instance I think it benefits the 6ers more than the Raptors

Maybe, but that hand injury isn't going away and something like that is a big drain on your endurance no matter how tough you are. He's clearly being affected by it.

[Nilanka]

It seems Doc only goes to his zone defense to hide Niang....but our halfcourt offense still looks unorganized against it. I was expecting to see 40+ minutes of zone in Game 5.

It's a good thing Doc sucks.

[Kagemusha]

This game is our game 7.
The boys should never let up, keep the momentum going and go for the kill.

[golden]

Maybe, but that hand injury isn't going away and something like that is a big drain on your endurance no matter how tough you are. He's clearly being affected by it.

How does the hand injury affect his endurance? Seems more mental than anything else. Lowry's finger was popping out the entire 2019 playoff run.

[RaptorsVictim]

Sixers players are blaming each other right now, and that is a solid sighn of mental collapse.

[Jclaw]

How does the hand injury affect his endurance? Seems more mental than anything else. Lowry's finger was popping out the entire 2019 playoff run.

I think he was just saying, as i was about to say as well, Scottie's ankle should improve more in 3 days than Embiid's thumb will (because it can't).

[Bendit]

A fine breakdown of Game 5 ...

https://podcast.sportsnet.ca/the-rap...with-will-lou/

[Hotshot]

FVV getting off the lineup was actually good thing moving forward in this series. It gave the Raps a different look now with FVV being the weakest link on defense. I am sorry to say but FVV with his bum knee was not playing good enough basketball out there from what we needed out of him (good shooting, good decision making and solid D) he was our James Harden.

[LJ2]

Raps are only back on serve but the trend line has moved in their favour. Philly should shoot the ball better in game 6 and they will try harder defensively but I'm not really sure how many offensive adjustments they can make. The issue for Toronto will be scoring consistently in the half court cause if they can do that, we are going to see game 7.

Well I'm sure their trainers will be shooting every pain killer imaginable into Embiid's thumb to get a performance similar to game 1 out of him.

In the post game interview last night, Doc alluded to doing a better job of getting Maxey more involved in transition. That was a huge issue the first couple of games.

[Jclaw]

FVV getting off the lineup was actually good thing moving forward in this series. It gave the Raps a different look now with FVV being the weakest link on defense. I am sorry to say but FVV with his bum knee was not playing good enough basketball out there from what we needed out of him (good shooting, good decision making and solid D) he was our James Harden.

True, this has forced the issue in a good way. But anybody injured is not as good as they would be. I agree that this is a tough match up for Fred because Maxey is too fast and everyone else is too big. But when healthy, all star or not, he is great and borderline all defence. If we are so lucky to make it on to Miami, a healthy FVV would help

[iblastoff]

FVV getting off the lineup was actually good thing moving forward in this series. It gave the Raps a different look now with FVV being the weakest link on defense. I am sorry to say but FVV with his bum knee was not playing good enough basketball out there from what we needed out of him (good shooting, good decision making and solid D) he was our James Harden.

fred is great but clearly wasn't playing well enough in this series. injuries. matchup issues. etc. all fred could really do in his state was miss a LOT of shots, give up the ball whenever he was defended by basically anyone, try to shoot over people or drive to the net hoping to get calls (which he didnt). none of that was working.

scottie is another body that can bully his way to the net, throw tough overhead passes due to his height and vision and is rebounding at MORE than 3x the rate fred was. i think its safe to say if he didnt get hurt in game 1, this series would be 3-2 for toronto.

[JimiCliff]

Most interesting, prescient comment I heard about Philly before the series began was from David Thorpe. He said the Sixers were bigtime frontrunners: they can play great when they have a lead; not nearly as effective coming from behind.

Game 6 is gonna be all about the first quarter. Raps need to come out the gate like gangbusters (without fouling). Impose their will from the get go. Don't let Philly get anything easy. Don't let them build any confidence.

[KeonClark]

I think he was just saying, as i was about to say as well, Scottie's ankle should improve more in 3 days than Embiid's thumb will (because it can't).

But I am more concerned about his legs than his thumb. He was getting blown past on defense yesterday, and passive on offense. 2 days off will do the big slug some good, because he doesn't have the same stamina as our young 6'9 thoroughbreds

[G__Deane]

How does the hand injury affect his endurance? Seems more mental than anything else. Lowry's finger was popping out the entire 2019 playoff run.

I think it's more that acute or chronic pain saps your desire or ability to compete more than measurable endurance. Makes it easier to sag and give up down 10-15 with non-supportive fans too

[saints91]

If Birch hits open shots like he did in the first half, then it benefits to have him on the court. They are leaving him wide open, if he's not capitalizing on that, then we are down a man on the offensive end. Those baseline push shots were ugly in the second half. If he does end up starting hopefully we can get repeat performance. I agree there's a benefit to having a guy muscle Embiid for the first 5 minutes without having to worry about foul trouble.