After Thursday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors, the Philadelphia 76ers will finish the regular season 1-3 against the team north of the border. It was a game they led by as much as 15, but one that further exposed the Raptors as a matchup the Sixers may want to avoid in the postseason.
Unfortunately for Philly, the result of Thursday’s game makes a Raptors-Sixers first-round series that much closer to a reality. Toronto is just a game away from locking up the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, and though a single game separates the Sixers from second place, they’re currently holding down the fourth seed.
If the season ended today, these teams would meet in the postseason for the first time since the seven-game series Toronto won in 2019 on Kawhi Leonard’s dramatic buzzer-beater.
🏀 FINAL SCORE THREAD 🏀
Pascal Siakam dropped 23 points in the second half as he led the @Raptors to a comeback victory erasing a 15 point deficit! #WeTheNorth
Pascal Siakam: 37 PTS, 11 REB, 12 AST, 2 STL
Gary Trent Jr: 30 PTS, 5 REB, 5 3PM
Joel Embiid: 30 PTS, 10 REB pic.twitter.com/BjRM0AEDBS— NBA (@NBA) April 8, 2022
These teams are dramatically different from then, but the biggest difference is that Joel Embiid is now unquestionably the best player between them. And when you have the best player in a series, a legit MVP candidate no less, your chances are pretty good – in theory.
In practice, that hasn’t worked out this season; the Sixers were favored in each of those games against Toronto and went 0-4 against the spread. Two of those games were after the Sixers acquired James Harden from the Brooklyn Nets, both resulting in outright losses.
When Harden is at the top of his game, the Sixers have the two best players between these teams. But he’s been anything but that in the majority of his time with Philly. Harden was phenomenal in his first four games with the Sixers. In the 16 games since, he’s shooting under 36% from the field and under 30% from three. He’s still giving them 20 points and 10 assists – including 15 assists Thursday – but the Sixers are in big trouble if this version of Harden shows up in the playoffs.
The Raptors trailed by as many as 15 tonight before coming back to beat the 76ers, 119-114, behind Pascal Siakam's 37-point triple-double.
For Philadelphia, it's their 7th loss this season after leading by 15+ points, 2nd only to the Knicks (8) for most in the NBA. pic.twitter.com/2j5iXPtH8g
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 8, 2022
Pascal Siakam, meanwhile, has been incredible against Philly this season, averaging 30 points on 50% shooting after a 37-point triple-double on Thursday. He plays inside and outside in the Raptors’ smaller lineups, which are a perfect combatant to their disadvantage against Embiid. The Sixers haven’t even had to contend with Toronto’s only All-Star, Fred VanVleet, who missed the last three games between these teams. Add to that, Philly’s best perimeter defender Matisse Thybulle may be unavailable for games in Toronto. All this leads to a first-round series that could make the Sixers and their fans a lot more uncomfortable than they should be in a season with such large expectations.
There is one way they can avoid it though: win these last two games against the Pacers and Pistons, hope the Celtics lose Sunday to the Grizzlies, and get the hell out of the fourth seed.
