On Sunday night, the Philadelphia 76ers were taking on Atlantic division rival, Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre. This was the second Atlantic division team in four days that the Sixers have played as on Thursday night, they fell to defeat 100-91 to the Brooklyn Nets. Just like their game against the Nets, the Sixers made a valiant effort to come back in the fourth quarter. But ultimately lost to Toronto in a route 96-76. The Sixers have now lost six games in a row and are 0-14 on the road. Here are three takeaways from the Sixers’ 20-point loss.
1. The Sixers had no answer for Luis Scola
When the Sixers and Raptors played each other back on Nov. 11, forward Luis Scola gave Philadelphia fits. Scola in 18 minutes scored 21 points, shot 10-of-15 from the field and grabbed five rebounds. On Sunday night, Scola replicated that same performance doing it against Nerlens Noel and rookie Richaun Holmes.
Scola scored 22 points, shot 1o-of-14 from the field and grabbed five rebounds. He was able to put up points from the post, while knocking down mid-range jump shots and even extending his range to the three-point line, knocking down two three pointers. Scola was one of the main reasons why the Raptors were able to cut into the Sixers’ early lead in the first quarter as he had 14 points. His 14 points helped the Raptors to go on a 24-8 run to end the opening frame.
2. Jahlil Okafor puts together another strong performance
After having a double-double against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday night consisting of 22 points and 10 rebounds. In that game, Okafor was able to dominate down low in the post and establish himself. The same thing could be said on Sunday night against the Raptors. Once again, Okafor posted another double-double consisting of 23 points and 14 points. With Jonas Valanciunas still injured, he was matched up against Bismack Biyombo and Lucas Nogueira.
Okafor continued to show us what we already know he is capable of doing, good footwork in the post, extending his range and running the pick and roll. This time around, he was running the pick and roll with point guard Kendall Marshall. While it did not look crisp, it was only Marshall’s second game of the season as he is coming back from a torn ACL in his right knee.
During Sunday night’s game, Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News pointed out this interesting stat about Okafor.
Okafor with his 7th double-double of the season. He has 18 and 12 right now.
— Bob Cooney (@BobCooney76) December 14, 2015
Sunday night was Okafor’s third straight game scoring 20 points and it only looks like he is getting better each time he plays. On Monday night, he will face another test this time going against a Chicago Bulls team that has Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol. The last time these two teams played each other on Nov. 9, Okafor had 21 points and 15 rebounds in a 111-88 loss.
3. Kendall Marshall continues to work himself into the point guard rotation
Kendall Marshall made his Sixers debut on Friday night against the Detroit Pistons. Against Detroit, Marshall scored five points and dished out six assists in 16 minutes. Before Sunday night’s game, head coach Brett Brown made it known that Tony Wroten will play on Monday night against the Bulls, while Marshall will sit out.
“Now I’m really challenged on where do I spend my money. I’ve got 16 dollars. Where do I spend it? You can figure out different things, but you really want to put [Marshall] in a position where he can go win a game, go close out a game,” said Brown.
Marshall, who was on a 16-minute limit on Sunday night, played 20 minutes and saw action in the fourth quarter, when the Sixers cut the Raptors lead to 77-71 with about seven minutes to go.
It is definitely going to be a work in progress to get Marshall into the flow of the Sixers’ offense. But it is a good sign to see him playing 20 minutes after playing on Friday night. As Marshall minutes increase, you should see a more established offense on the floor for the Sixers.
On Monday night, the Sixers will be taking on Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls at 8:00 pm ET on Comcast Sportsnet before they continue their three game road trip on Wednesday, when they take on the Atlanta Hawks.
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