Toronto Raptors could be a real threat for any higher seed in the Eastern Conference. After grinding out to a win over the star-studded Philadelphia 76ers, the Canadians sent a clear message to the rest of the Eastern Conference.
The Raptors packed the paint and forced turnovers and bad shots during the fourth quarter. They kept the Sixers to 14 points to make a push for a 93-88 win in Philadelphia. They won the sixth straight road game and they remain 1.0 game behind the sixth seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.
Pascal Siakam was dominant against the Sixers frontcourt with 26 points, while Precious Achiuwa finished with 20 and some huge defensive and hustle plays in the last two minutes of the game.
Toronto’s physicality is out of this world, and it works best when the team is facing an over .500 opponent. The Raptors are 17-8 since January 30 and a 3OT win over the East-leading Miami Heat.
During that stint, nine of the 17 wins came against teams that are currently over .500 and as a result, they could be in the playoffs next month. Toronto is trying to avoid the play-in tournament with 11 games remaining for the end of the regular season.
“They are a tough matchup. They played so different than everybody else. Masai went out and got everybody that he can find, who is 6’7”-6’10” that can dribble, pass and shoot,” 76ers HC Doc Rivers said after the game.
The Raptors can beat you even when they’re shooting. Last night, they shot only 37 percent from the field and 26 percent from beyond the arc. The Sixers made a better percentage of their shots, but Joel Embiid only had six makes in 20 attempts from the field.
More importantly, they played locked down defense to finish the contest. Harden missed two free throws with the Sixers down 87-86 and missed a driving layup with 59 seconds left and the Sixers down 89-86.
The Sixers had the ball with 37.3 seconds left, and Joel Embiid lost the ball for a costly turnover. Moreover, Harden missed again when he was whistled for an offensive foul on a drive down with the score at 90-88.
The Sixers made only four baskets and committed seven turnovers during the fourth quarter. Toronto out-rebounded their conference rivals 56-40, with 20 of the 56 coming off the offensive side.
”If we believe we can win and compete as hard as we’ve been competing, we’re going to get our share of wins. We deserve to get our share of wins,” Raptors HC Nick Nurse said via NBA.com.
The Raptors will proceed in the last 11 games of the regular season with the hope of advancing directly to the postseason. They will have some great matchups during that 11-game skid.
Namely, they’ll start with the desperate Bulls on Monday, while in the next three weeks, they will face Cleveland, Minnesota, Miami, Boston and Philadelphia among others.
This could be the greatest test for Nick Nurse’s team ahead of a potential postseason berth after missing last year’s playoff.
