But the Raptors do not see themselves as a warm-up for the powerful Sixers pair, Joel Embiid and James Harden. They see the Sixers as a team with vulnerabilities that they can take advantage of and themselves as advantages that Philadelphia may find difficult to match. But the Raptors’ best chance is if they can control the nature of the competition and force the Sixers into awkward places thanks to the very specific ways the Raptors think they have to play to win games – especially against teams with the highest talent line. . Good luck in game 2. Because the Philadelphia 76ers organized a seminar on how to overthrow the Raptors’ strange, out of place ways and won themselves a very easy 131-111 victory. And luck? In the Raptors’ view, they should start with the hope that rookie star Scottie Barnes – the team’s bright spot in his playoff debut – is not as seriously injured as he seemed to be when he was helped off by teammates. of being crushed by pain. as the Sixers star Joel Embiid – about 300 pounds – stepped on his left foot and finished his night early in the fourth quarter. The Raptors can only hope that Embiid’s big leg is not over for the rookie season, because as the Sixers played in Game 1, they may not have many games. It’s only one game in a series of seven games, but the Raptors lost to a better team playing superior basketball. “I think they were really great,” said Raptors head coach Nick Ners. “They were fast and physical, they shot and hit the ball without turning it over and smashing the glass. “They were really great, so I give them a lot of credit.” Just an example? The Sixers counted 29 assists in 43 goals on the field against – surprisingly – just three turnovers for the game. Not much better than that, but there were more: The Sixers shot 51.2 percent from the floor, 16 out of 32 from deep and 29 out of 34 from the free-kick line. “It simply came to our notice then. Very. “In these areas,” said Raptors guard Fred VanVleet. “But they played a good game … We will tie them with laces on Monday and give them another chance.” On the bright side? It will be difficult for the Sixers to play it perfectly three more times. The Raptors should hopefully break the Philadelphia orbit and make them play in the kind of chaos Toronto wants to create. The Raptors’ path to success is generally based on control of the attacking glass. forcing teams into twists and turns and making the lives of opposing stars a vision of basketball hell thanks to double and triple teams when needed and an accompanying long-term upheaval, reaching out arms and hands each time their opponents touch the ball. It is an approach that has worked over and over again during the regular season, when teams do not have the luxury or energy to adjust their game plan for a few meetings per season. But the playoffs give the teams the luxury of preparing, and the praise to the Sixers was extremely well prepared. The Raptors did not play very badly – at the beginning of the fourth quarter they shot better than 50 percent off the floor, they were 12-26 out of three and had made just seven turnovers: everything was great for them. Four of their five starters were in double digits. But the Sixers played almost perfectly as they shrank and rolled the paint to keep the Raptors away from the attacking glass, while being forced to step in enough to make Toronto pay for all the running it does to help defensively. They were antiseptic with the ball throughout the game and as the stars of Sixers Embiid (19 points and 15 rebounds) and Harden (22 points and 14 assists) became known, their attention span created many opportunities for Philadelphia side players to shine and they took a bath. at light. None of the second guard Tyrese Maxey who finished with 38 career playoffs, while Tobias Harris had 26 points in 14 shots. “We just [have] to keep him a little better, “said Maxey VanVleet, who shot 14-of-21 from the floor and 5-of-8 of three. “I think he found the cracks in our defense and our game. We obviously loaded a ton on Joel and a ton on James, and he was able to find success in the cracks and creases. [We] we just have to take better care of him and give him a little more attention. He is a good player. “He had an amazing, almost perfect game tonight… but it’s a game.” The Raptors were led by Pascal Siakam who had 24 points and seven assists while VanVleet and OG Anunoby had 18 and 20, respectively. Barnes looked comfortable in his first start in the playoffs, scoring 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists before retiring with an injury after 32 minutes. He was sent for x-rays afterwards – as was Thad Young, who left after halftime with a sprained thumb. In both cases the images were negative for fractures, but each will have an MRI scan on Sunday. Barnes’ injury marked the end of the game, realistically, but before that you kept waiting for the Raptors to make a mistake and turn a trickle into a torrent as usual. But the Sixers were so tidy that Toronto could never do it. The Raptors did not let go of the rope easily. The effort was there. Their best stretch came during a 17-4 streak early in the third quarter that helped reduce the Sixers’ 24-point lead to 11, but with the Sixers making so few mistakes, the Raptors did not have the materials to hit the game. Open. They could have scored from the Sixers’ failures, but there weren’t enough extra chances to turn the series into an avalanche that made the game. Harden stabilized Philadelphia with a three-pointer, then drove the lap for the lay-up and then hit Maxey for a quick break and order was restored. The Raptors had another chance to strike when the Sixers coach, Doc Rivers, chose to rest both Ebid and Harden in the last minutes of the third quarter. For this series to have a long lifespan, the Raptors would have to dominate such opportunities, but it did not happen in Game 1. Maxey’s presentation as a legal third star did not lose a single shot, as it shot into a 10 in the last two minutes of the third to send the Sixers to the fourth difference with 21. The success of the Raptors during the regular season depended mainly on their commitment to win more goal attempts than their opponents, something they do by being aggressive on the offensive glass, passing lanes and double teams to create extra shoots and possessions. These are the things that a well-trained team would aim to clear during a playoff series, so it would be interesting to see who would win early: the Raptors ‘determination to shoot extra shots or the Sixers’ care in limiting offensive rebounds or reversals. Nurse called it a testament test and the Sixers won it early. The 76ers sprang to an 11-2 streak early on which was fueled by a triad of elements that the Rivers will last throughout the series: a three-pointer from Harden, a strip from the Raptors and a quick break from Maxey and an offensive rebound and bucket from Embiid. The Sixers had more elements that worked for them than that: all the bodies sent to Embiid and Harden would inevitably leave their eyes open elsewhere and no one benefited more than Maxey and Harris. The tone was set. The Raptors, meanwhile, got nothing from secondary sources. Gary Trent Jr. it was 2-for-11 and the Raptors got just 16 points off their bench before junk time. The Sixers set the tone physically as well, with Ebid stepping out of the attacking glass and sending players like Cam Birch and Barnes to the floor in tough clashes. The Raptors did not retreat exactly, but because they lack a single body to match Embiid, they will have to do so as a team. The Raptors would argue that the officials played an equally important role. Two touch fouls on VanVleet in the first two minutes forced one of the NBA’s most annoying defenders to play carefully, while Chris Boucher’s reckless action on the attacking glass was limited by three quick fouls. And in general, there was the issue of Embiid, who was the bowling ball that sent the Raptors to fly more often. “We have to believe that if we are legitimate defensively, they will call it that, right?” said the nurse. “Like we had a few times we hit him on the spot and he hit us with a boy and they let him lie down. “I do not care if you are five feet-11 and 160 pounds, if you beat him on the spot and he runs up, it is a foul. I thought he threw three or four elbows in the face, they called him for one. OKAY. That is, we will stay in there. We just need, if we are legitimate defensively, then we have to call them or we do not have the opportunity, period. “No one can guard this guy if they let him run you over and over again.” It’s just a game and adjustments will be made, but going to Game 2 on Monday, the Raptors have a long enough list to complete if they are going to play the way they need to to have a chance in the series.
title: “Raptors Struggle To Put Any Sustained Pressure On Well Prepared 76Ers " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-29” author: “Frank Buford”
But the Raptors do not see themselves as a warm-up for the powerful Sixers pair, Joel Embiid and James Harden. They see the Sixers as a team with vulnerabilities that they can take advantage of and themselves as advantages that Philadelphia may find difficult to match. But the Raptors’ best chance is if they can control the nature of the competition and force the Sixers into awkward places thanks to the very specific ways the Raptors think they have to play to win games – especially against teams with the highest talent line. . Good luck in game 2. Because the Philadelphia 76ers organized a seminar on how to overthrow the Raptors’ strange, out of place ways and won themselves a very easy 131-111 victory. And luck? In the Raptors’ view, they should start with the hope that rookie star Scottie Barnes – the team’s bright spot in his playoff debut – is not as seriously injured as he seemed to be when he was helped off by teammates. of being crushed by pain. as the Sixers star Joel Embiid – about 300 pounds – stepped on his left foot and finished his night early in the fourth quarter. The Raptors can only hope that Embiid’s big leg is not over for the rookie season, because as the Sixers played in Game 1, they may not have many games. It’s only one game in a series of seven games, but the Raptors lost to a better team playing superior basketball. “I think they were really great,” said Raptors head coach Nick Ners. “They were fast and physical, they shot and hit the ball without turning it over and smashing the glass. “They were really great, so I give them a lot of credit.” Just an example? The Sixers counted 29 assists in 43 goals on the field against – surprisingly – just three turnovers for the game. Not much better than that, but there were more: The Sixers shot 51.2 percent from the floor, 16 out of 32 from deep and 29 out of 34 from the free-kick line. “It simply came to our notice then. Very. “In these areas,” said Raptors guard Fred VanVleet. “But they played a good game … We will tie them with laces on Monday and give them another chance.” On the bright side? It will be difficult for the Sixers to play it perfectly three more times. The Raptors should hopefully break the Philadelphia orbit and make them play in the kind of chaos Toronto wants to create. The Raptors’ path to success is generally based on control of the attacking glass. forcing teams into twists and turns and making the lives of opposing stars a vision of basketball hell thanks to double and triple teams when needed and an accompanying long-term upheaval, reaching out arms and hands each time their opponents touch the ball. It is an approach that has worked over and over again during the regular season, when teams do not have the luxury or energy to adjust their game plan for a few meetings per season. But the playoffs give the teams the luxury of preparing, and the praise to the Sixers was extremely well prepared. The Raptors did not play very badly – at the beginning of the fourth quarter they shot better than 50 percent off the floor, they were 12-26 out of three and had made just seven turnovers: everything was great for them. Four of their five starters were in double digits. But the Sixers played almost perfectly as they shrank and rolled the paint to keep the Raptors away from the attacking glass, while being forced to step in enough to make Toronto pay for all the running it does to help defensively. They were antiseptic with the ball throughout the game and as the stars of Sixers Embiid (19 points and 15 rebounds) and Harden (22 points and 14 assists) became known, their attention span created many opportunities for Philadelphia side players to shine and they took a bath. at light. None of the second guard Tyrese Maxey who finished with 38 career playoffs, while Tobias Harris had 26 points in 14 shots. “We just [have] to keep him a little better, “said Maxey VanVleet, who shot 14-of-21 from the floor and 5-of-8 of three. “I think he found the cracks in our defense and our game. We obviously loaded a ton on Joel and a ton on James, and he was able to find success in the cracks and creases. [We] we just have to take better care of him and give him a little more attention. He is a good player. “He had an amazing, almost perfect game tonight… but it’s a game.” The Raptors were led by Pascal Siakam who had 24 points and seven assists while VanVleet and OG Anunoby had 18 and 20, respectively. Barnes looked comfortable in his first start in the playoffs, scoring 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists before retiring with an injury after 32 minutes. He was sent for x-rays afterwards – as was Thad Young, who left after halftime with a sprained thumb. In both cases the images were negative for fractures, but each will have an MRI scan on Sunday. Barnes’ injury marked the end of the game, realistically, but before that you kept waiting for the Raptors to make a mistake and turn a trickle into a torrent as usual. But the Sixers were so tidy that Toronto could never do it. The Raptors did not let go of the rope easily. The effort was there. Their best stretch came during a 17-4 streak early in the third quarter that helped reduce the Sixers’ 24-point lead to 11, but with the Sixers making so few mistakes, the Raptors did not have the materials to hit the game. Open. They could have scored from the Sixers’ failures, but there weren’t enough extra chances to turn the series into an avalanche that made the game. Harden stabilized Philadelphia with a three-pointer, then drove the lap for the lay-up and then hit Maxey for a quick break and order was restored. The Raptors had another chance to strike when the Sixers coach, Doc Rivers, chose to rest both Ebid and Harden in the last minutes of the third quarter. For this series to have a long lifespan, the Raptors would have to dominate such opportunities, but it did not happen in Game 1. Maxey’s presentation as a legal third star did not lose a single shot, as it shot into a 10 in the last two minutes of the third to send the Sixers to the fourth difference with 21. The success of the Raptors during the regular season depended mainly on their commitment to win more goal attempts than their opponents, something they do by being aggressive on the offensive glass, passing lanes and double teams to create extra shoots and possessions. These are the things that a well-trained team would aim to clear during a playoff series, so it would be interesting to see who would win early: the Raptors ‘determination to shoot extra shots or the Sixers’ care in limiting offensive rebounds or reversals. Nurse called it a testament test and the Sixers won it early. The 76ers sprang to an 11-2 streak early on which was fueled by a triad of elements that the Rivers will last throughout the series: a three-pointer from Harden, a strip from the Raptors and a quick break from Maxey and an offensive rebound and bucket from Embiid. The Sixers had more elements that worked for them than that: all the bodies sent to Embiid and Harden would inevitably leave their eyes open elsewhere and no one benefited more than Maxey and Harris. The tone was set. The Raptors, meanwhile, got nothing from secondary sources. Gary Trent Jr. it was 2-for-11 and the Raptors got just 16 points off their bench before junk time. The Sixers set the tone physically as well, with Ebid stepping out of the attacking glass and sending players like Cam Birch and Barnes to the floor in tough clashes. The Raptors did not retreat exactly, but because they lack a single body to match Embiid, they will have to do so as a team. The Raptors would argue that the officials played an equally important role. Two touch fouls on VanVleet in the first two minutes forced one of the NBA’s most annoying defenders to play carefully, while Chris Boucher’s reckless action on the attacking glass was limited by three quick fouls. And in general, there was the issue of Embiid, who was the bowling ball that sent the Raptors to fly more often. “We have to believe that if we are legitimate defensively, they will call it that, right?” said the nurse. “Like we had a few times we hit him on the spot and he hit us with a boy and they let him lie down. “I do not care if you are five feet-11 and 160 pounds, if you beat him on the spot and he runs up, it is a foul. I thought he threw three or four elbows in the face, they called him for one. OKAY. That is, we will stay in there. We just need, if we are legitimate defensively, then we have to call them or we do not have the opportunity, period. “No one can guard this guy if they let him run you over and over again.” It’s just a game and adjustments will be made, but going to Game 2 on Monday, the Raptors have a long enough list to complete if they are going to play the way they need to to have a chance in the series.