Toronto Raptors vs Philadelphia 76ers: Raptors look to get first win of the season

it’s not a must win, but oh boy, the Raptors have to show up against this banged up Sixers tonight.

After the total destruction at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers during their season opener, Toronto will aim to get back on track when they face the Philadelphia 76ers tonight at home. Coach Darko Rajakovic and his Raptors will be looking to right the ship after the 106-136 “whooping” (per Scottie Barnes), which prompted a lengthy practice the next day to address the key issues from their embarrassing season opener.

Toronto enters this game looking for their first win of the season, eager to shake off the disappointment from their last performance. Against the Cavaliers, the Raptors struggled on both ends of the floor. They could not provide enough resistance to anyone, led by Evan Mobley, who outclassed his draft class rival Scottie Barnes, putting up 25 points and nine boards. It was so bad that even the Cavs’ bench players got their way easily. Offensively, it felt like there was a construction going on around the Scotiabank Arena as all you heard were bricks whenever the Raptors shot the ball.

Toronto’s Scottie Barnes will be key in this matchup. He is looking to bounce back after looking like the Monstars took whatever skills he’s got in his bag. Simply put, he’ll need to do a better job leading the Raptors, as the team will need a big night from him every night to give his team a chance to win on most nights. Gradey Dick, Chris Boucher, and Jamal Shead looked impressive the other night. Still, with a short-staffed team, they’ll need to duplicate and better their season-opener production.

Immanuel Quickley, who took a spill off a questionable play from Darius Garland, will likely miss tonight’s game. Kelly Olynyk, RJ Barrett, and Ja’Kobe Walter are also expected to be in street clothes.

Speaking of injuries, the Philadelphia 76ers will be in town missing their key players as well. Paul George is expected to be out since he suffered a leg injury in the preseason. At the same time, Joel Embiid is on paid time off this week, which prompted the NBA to investigate his situation.

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Here are the game details:

Time: 7:30 pm ET

Where to watch: Sportsnet

Lineups:

Raptors: Scottie Barnes, Davion Mitchell, Jakob Poeltl, Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji

Sixers: Tyrese Maxey, KJ Martin, Eric Gordon, Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond

Injuries:

Raptors: RJ Barrett — shoulder (OUT), Kelly Olynyk — back (OUT), Bruce Brown — knee (OUT), Ja’Kobe Walter — shoulder (OUT), Immanuel Quickley — back (Doubtful)

Sixers: Joel Embiid — paid time off (OUT), Paul George — knee (OUT)

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No Excuses

The Sixers opened their season with a loss against the Milwaukee Bucks, with former Raptors coach Nick Nurse scrambling with makeshift lineups for the entire game. They are a top-heavy team, but with the Sixers having a superior advantage in coaching and heart (Kyle Lowry <3 ), the Raptors can’t come into this game expecting a walk in the park. Tonight’s game is not a must-win game, but it’s a “must look decent” kind of game.

Jump Start Scottie Barnes

Game 1 of 82 was a flop, but it’s not all on Scottie Barnes. Coach Darko Rajakovic needs to do a better job putting Barnes in more advantageous positions and be able to come up with counters, as knowing the madman on the other bench, the Sixers will try to take Barnes out of the game. Unlike the Cavs, the Sixers don’t have that much size after Andre Drummond, so Barnes will need to be aggressive in getting to the basket.

Backup Battle

With Immanuel Quickley unlikely to play, the point guard play spotlights the Davion Mitchell vs. Jamal Shead backup PG battle. Mitchell will likely get the starting spot if Quickley misses tonight’s game, and expect coach Rajakovic to provide halfcourt playmaking help by putting the ball on Jakob Poeltl and Bruno Fernando to help execute their offense. Mitchell showed flashes of decent playmaking in the halfcourt when he didn’t try to overdo it, but his offense was almost nonexistent outside of the layup range. On the other hand, Shead was much more in control and efficient with the minutes he got.

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