Game 1 Round 2: Toronto Raptors (1-0) 108 - 95 Philadelphia 76ers (0-1)

First published April 28th 2019

This is such a fun series for matchups. From the start you could see how having Ben on Lowry creates difficulties for a guard that generates a lot of offense for his team using penetration.

Most of their early plays ended up turning into Siakam having the ball in the perimeter and trying to create his own shot against Tobias Harris, and considering the options, the Sixers were willing to go with that gamble. Although, if he starts his move closer to the rim though, i'm not sure Harris can keep up. And after those first couple of plays, Siakam would be scoring the open three pointers they gave him (there goes that hope) and then came the innumerable times he was able to win position inside. No one seemed to be able to affect his shot and he can always go one on one since there's no one you can help off. (Matchup data)

Philadelphia came out with their usual brand of handoff-heavy offense, looking to create split-second openings with a mixture of player and ball movement.

One strategic advantage that i wanted to see if the Raptors would try directly to exploit is how Gasol can take bigs (Embiid more importantly) out of the paint or, should they want to stay low and defend, shoot open jumpers which he can easily make. Examples of those openings are these plays, where Kawhi actually converted by himself on both because that's the reason you have Kwahi. But this matchup opens up an easy way to finish a play every trip and, at worst, it might improve spacing in the paint for cutters and drivers (great read by Lowry). Look at how Embiid turns his back to an open Danny Green because he's worried about Marc. And another great thing about the Spanish big is how he can be aware and cover of multiple things at once: Look at how many little things he does over the course of this clip.

And going back to Kawhi, so much of the early lead was built on him making whatever kind of jumper he wants, ending the half with 27 points in 14 shots! He's everything they dreamed he could be as the main offensive force. Lowry was great as well, and his production took a spike when Philly's bench was out there. 13 consecutive shots made for the Raptors and a double-digit lead.

In a move that Brett Brown adopted in the previous series, they bring out the starters to start the second quarter and, hopefully, murder the opposition's bench. Ibaka, in particular, had possessions where he stuck to close to Embiid and allowed open lanes to the rim (one of those). I think being with his back parallel to the paint is too much of a commitment. Game was even by the time Gasol checks back.

Near the end of the 1st quarter, a returning Simmons matched up with Leonard in one play that made me wonder if they'll try it more when they needs to contain him. And in the second quarter we saw it again.

The first half ended up being a lot more close that want you'd think but the amount of offensive rebounds allowed by the Raptors was the great equalizer, particularly in the second quarter.

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The second half begins with a much more aggressive and super hot J.J. Redick: 4-6 from 3 in just the first 3 and half minutes. Toronto would regain momentum with consecutive turnovers for the Sixers, who weren't getting any stops on the other end. In fact, this would turn into 10-0 run for the home team. This was the big separation point that would mostly hold for the rest of the game.

Again, after Gasol made a three, Embiid felt more pressured to stay close to him and that gave Green an open lane and, in this case, he got a foul on Redick.

Nice play in the 4th quarter where Ibaka slips after screening for Lowry, trapped by the two biggest Sixers on the court, who reads it well and dishes the big who gets an easy finish. Leonard would kill this game off soon enough. The Sixers never mounted any sort of consistent play to bring the game back, with Ibaka standing out with some highlight blocks that halted any comeback hopes.

Congrats on beating the game 1 curse. The Raptors defense is so fun to watch. The size, length and IQ are all off the charts. Butler was so quiet because he's so undersized compared to almost every one he had on him. And Leonard is the best player in this series by a margin that's not really funny. Ibaka improved in the second half and he's a luxury of a backup, a good rim protector and i'm sure the Sixers would love to have Mike Scott to play small ball and attack him more in the perimeter. It would make the Raptors more vulnerable in the bench units (especially because Powell isn't the size of OG). But Gasol only played 26 minutes because the game was mostly under control so they can also ramp those minutes up and in terms of scoring they had nothing from the bench. Still, my bet was Raptors in 5 and i'm having a hard time seeing it differently.

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Other Notes:

Lowry's passes once he crosses the halfcourt line in transition are a staple of the Raptors transition offense. Harris, despite being Siakam's main coverage, looks for Embiid to cover the passing lane since he's going the same way but Embiid doesn't even seem to be aware of the running Pascal behind him. Result is a dunk.

Transition defense is easier for a team where a big that plays outside the paint like Gasol for this team since he can get back faster but the speed and lenght of Simmons allows him to finish at the rim before most players can track back to their positions. There was a consistent effort to ignore the offensive glass and make sure you don't allow any quick offense and another great advantage Toronto has is how they're particulary apt to get deflections and clog passing lanes that Ben, when creating from the elbow or the post, usually uses to find cutters.

Great play for an open 3. Very Warriors-esque movement with Korkmaz. I also enjoyed Danny Green's read in this play that has him stopping an open shot by Reddick and tracking back his man (Kawhi did great on the corner as well) and it would have been a perfect defensive play if he stayed down on the pumpfake but, still, he turned his body sideways and Harris couldn't draw the foul.

Gasol's defense on Embiid was all i'd had hoped it to be. Embiid shot 1-8 against Marc and drew 0 fouls, according to NBA.com. Fantastic job.

(Reddit)