Raptors Tear Apart the Sixers

By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)

Toronto 114, Philadelphia 103- Box Score

The North invaded the Wells Fargo Center Monday night, but much like the Stark clan, Toronto has fallen on some hard times of late. The Raptors entered play having lost 5 straight games with Chicago and Cleveland both breathing down their necks for the #2 spot in the East. To make matters worse, All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry continues to sit out to rest a myriad of minor ailments. Fortunately for their foes north of the border, the Sixers have a habit of curing what ails their opponents.

With Robert Covington (bruised elbow) and Jason Richardson (rest) both ruled out for the contest, the Sixers found themselves without arguably their two best perimeter shooters one night after their worst offensive performance of 2015. Therefore, it was actually a surprise at how well Philadelphia was able to score the ball; as the Sixers shot 50% as a team on the game. Not surprising however, given that they were playing the second night of a back-to-back, was the fact that the Sixers struggled on the defensive end. While they were missing their 2015 All-Star, the Raptors received a big performance from Lowry’s 2014 All-Star teammate, DeMar DeRozan.

DeRozan went off for a season-high 35 points, connecting on 12-24 shot from the field and going a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe. When the Sixers gave him any room on the perimeter, DeRozan would knock down the open jumper, and when they tried to crowd him, he drove by the defenders and did things like this at the rim.

https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.jsIt wasn’t the best night for Jerami Grant, but with DeRozan also recording 9 rebounds and 5 assists on the game, plenty of Sixers were victimized by Lil’ Romeo’s pal. His teammates helped him out from behind the arc, as the Raptors shot 11-27 from three, led by Terrence Ross who hit 4-7.

For the second straight game, the Sixers stayed within striking distance thanks to a spark off the bench from Ish Smith. The Sixers’ recent waiver claim scored a career-high 19 points on 8-13 shooting, to go along with 5 rebounds and a career-high 9 assists. While his shooting reminds me of someone trying to get off a pop-a-shot as quickly as possible in lieu of proper accuracy, Smith does a great job using his speed to pierce through the heart of the defense and set up his teammates. This play where Smith finds Nerlens Noel at the basket is emblematic of the Sixers’ offensive success on the game.

https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.jsThe other end of that play was the other driving force for the Sixers Monday night, as Noel finished with 17 points on a perfect 7-7 shooting performance from the field. Granted, none of his shots came from outside the paint, but there’s something to say about knowing where your bread is buttered and Nerlens did not go hungry on this occasion. The Sixers rookie also collected 7 rebounds and while he was only credited with one block, it was a good one. https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js

The other notable performance for Philadelphia came from Thomas Robinson, who racked up 13 points on 6-8 shooting and 5 rebounds in just 15 minutes of action. It’s a small sample size of 4 games, but Robinson’s rebounding percentage of 23.0% easily leads the team on the year. He attacks the boards like a man with a particular set of skills in search of his daughter; that tenacity will always have a role in a NBA contest.

The Sixers are back in action Wednesday night in Oklahoma City, facing a possibly Russell Westbrook-less Thunder squad. As much as I enjoy seeing the Sixers make strides on the court, that game will be crucial for the team’s draft position, both in terms of their own first-round pick and helping OKC move up to the point where the Sixers would claim the Thunder’s first-rounder in this draft. As always, riding along in the tanking caravan leaves you in a win-win situation.