It has been a tough couple of days for the Raptors, but the best remedy to any setback is to get back on the court and try to get back to winning. The Toronto Raptors will have the perfect opportunity to do just that when they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Sixers on Sunday evening.
Raptors Update
The Toronto Raptors will be looking to get back to winning ways when they travel to Philadelphia. However, there has been nothing from these two defeats that should greatly concern the home support. Both of the two games could have gone in the opposite direction, and it was mainly down to bad fortune that they didn’t.
The first of these defeats came against the Miami Heat at the Scotiabank. Pascal Siakam wasn’t able to deliver the goods on that night as he could only score 15 points from his 39 minutes on the court. The overtime defeat would have been put down to not taking their chances, as the Raptors missed a handful of golden opportunities before the Heat finally pulled away. It brought an end to a seven-game winning run, and another quickly followed.
This time it was the Houston Rockets that managed to escape with the win. The Raptors did a great job of keeping James Harden quiet as he could only muster 23-points, which was way below his average of 38.7 this season. The Raptors were led by 24 from Siakam, but the remainder didn’t chip in with nearly enough.
Toronto did go into the game with an excellent record on the road this campaign, as they have won three of their last four. The only defeat during that time came by virtue of a 110-102 deficit against the Dallas Mavericks.
Raptors Record Against Sixers
The Raptors have a decent all-time record over the Sixers, as they have won on 55 occasions. Philadelphia have won on 38 occasions. The most famous of these came last season in the post-season where Kawhi Leonard scored a buzzer-beater to send the Raptors to the conference finals.
The two sides have already met once this season, with the Raptors winning 101-96. Siakam scored 25 points in that game, and there was also 24 for Fred VanFleet. Most notably, however, the Raptors managed to keep Joel Embiid scoreless for the entirety of the match. If they can match that feat on Sunday, then they will be getting the win.
Raptors Team News
The Raptors have welcomed back Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka into the fold over recent weeks, but they still have three more names on the injury list. Patrick McCaw and Matt Thomas are both expected to be out until the middle of December, while there will be a game-time decision regarding the fitness of Stanley Johnson.
Prediction
The bookmakers currently have the Raptors as underdogs, but that wouldn’t faze a team that has a record of 18-12-0 when placed as the outsider. The result will likely centre on whether the Raptors are able to keep Embiid as quiet as they did in the most recent meeting. If they can do that, and Siakam can deliver, then the Raptors should get the win.
