Second night of a back-to-back
The Philadelphia 76ers moved to 16-7 on the season after obliterating the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, 141-94. What’s more impressive is that they did it without Joel Embiid, who sat out to rest a hip injury and probably gear up for a revenge game against the Toronto Raptors. He was shut down in their previous meeting and went scoreless in 32 minutes (0-for-11 from the floor, 0-for-4 from the foul line). Philly, however, only lost by five, 101-96.
Joel Embiid has played well since that very forgettable performance, averaging 26.8 points and 15.2 rebounds in his last four. Look for him to try and go off early.
Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons will remain as the second and third options for the Sixers. Simmons will try to build off his season-high 34 points from the Cavs win (12-for-14 shooting) while Harris is boasting 19.1 PPG on the season. Al Horford (14.4 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.9 APG), meanwhile, will be there to provide a little bit of everything. Josh Richardson is still unlikely to play due to a hamstring injury. It will be the seventh-straight he has missed, which is considerably vital as he made up for Embiid being non-existent in the recent Raptors match-up, where he logged a game-high 25 points.
The Sixers are a perfect 11-0 at home this season.
Back-to-back losses
The 15-6 Raptors are trying to climb out of a two-game skid. They lost in overtime to the Miami Heat on Wednesday 121-110, where they only scored two points in the extra period, and then got dominated by the Houston Rockets on Friday, 119-109.
Despite the slump, the Raptors will be confident heading into the match-up. They have the blueprint to stop Embiid and will have the advantage of the Sixers being on the second night of a back-to-back.
The recently healed Kyle Lowry (thumb) and Serge Ibaka (ankle) are back in action for the defending champs. Although Lowry has only shot 26.9% since his return, his facilitating IQ will provide good damage for the Raps. He has dished out 9.5 assists per game in his last two. Ibaka will be in his third game back and has averaged 12 points and 6.1 rebounds in 20.1 minutes during that span.
With that, expect Pascal Siakam (25 PPG) and Fred VanVleet (18.7 PPG, 7.3 APG) to remain as the main producers. Siakam is continuing to grow as a scorer and as a number one option, and has eight games with 30 or more points on the season. VanVleet, as he prepares to take the torch from Lowry soon, is in the same level. He leads the team in assists and has 10 games with 20 or more points on the year.
The Raptors are 6-4 on the road this season.
PREDICTION:
The two teams engage in an intense battle and the Sixers win a close one, 105-102.
