The Philadelphia 76ers are at home to take on the Toronto Raptors in the first game of a three-game homestand. After winning the first four games of the season, the Sixers have dropped three of their last four, including two in a row to the Bulls and Cavaliers. The Raptors have won four games in a row, including a 109-97 win over the Hawks in Atlanta on Friday night.
Who: Toronto Raptors (5-4) at Philadelphia 76ers (5-3)
When: 7:30 p.m. EST
Where: XFinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA League Pass
The Sixers will be well-rested and mostly healthy for their matchup with Dominick Barlow and Paul George, as the only two players listed as "out". Having Joel Embiid, who will continue to extend his minutes, as well as Jared McCain, who will be easing his way into the rotation after returning to the court on Wednesday, will make life quite a bit easier for the Sixers.
The team needs to make sure that they're able to use their top four guards effectively, while trying to bring down some of Tyrese Maxey's minutes. While he's leading the league in scoring at 33.5 points per game and shooting an impressive 47.9% on his three-point attempts, Maxey is also leading the league in minutes per game with just over 41 per contest.
If the Sixers are going to have a successful season, Maxey is the new key, and if they continue to run him into the ground, they'll wind up losing him, as they have in the past. With all four guards available tonight, Maxey should be able to get a bit more rest, especially if McCain gets more comfortable and hits some shots.
The Raptors have turned some early-season woes completely around and have won four straight games coming into tonight's contest. But the team just beat the Hawks on Friday night, then traveled to Philly for tonight's game, so they could be a little tired.
The Raptors have four players scoring over 20 points per game in Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, and Scottie Barnes, and after that, there's quite a drop-off in scoring, but they're getting points from all over the roster. While not shooting as well as the Sixers from three-point range, the team is holding opponents to four fewer points per game this season.
While Ingram and Barrett, combined with guard Immanuel Quickley, are shooting 15 three-pointers per game, they're only connecting on close to 35% of them. Barnes is the only one on the team, averaging more than four attempts per game, who is shooting over 40% and is connecting at a 46.7% rate, slightly behind Maxey. They'll need to shoot much better against a Sixers team that's third in the league this season.
First and foremost, the Sixers will be sporting their Hardwood Classic, black throwback jerseys tonight, as a tribute to the 2000-01 Sixers squad. Hip Hop, the mascot, is in the arena as well. For quite a while, fans have wanted the Sixers to use the jerseys, and this year the team finally listened, so it'll be an interesting look for players like Maxey and VJ Edgecombe to be flying around in the retro uniforms.
On the court, the Sixers will have to make sure McCain is getting good and clear looks, so he can start scoring and gaining the confidence that made him one of the top rookies last season before his knee injury. Maxey is, hopefully, sooner rather than later, going to have to take a step back in the minutes he's playing, and with the full arsenal of guards, that should be something Head Coach Nick Nurse aims to do.
Finally, the Sixers need to maintain their intensity and shooting throughout the whole game. They've been horrible in the third quarter this season, and while they've managed some very good fourth quarters this year, the team can't be successful if they're constantly trying to claw their way back into games in the waning moments. This could be helped by them continuing to use their smaller, ball-moving lineup and staying away from the Maxey-Embiid two-man game that seemed to falter against the Bulls. Consistency is the key for the Sixers to be successful.
Sixers 127 - Raptors 118
