After jumping out to a 5-0 record to start the season, the Raptors lost a close game to the Orlando Magic, only to be embarrassed by the Miami Heat a few days later, and to lose twice to the New York Knicks (once in the standings and once on the draft board).
The Philadelphia 76ers are arriving at the perfect time, and are the hopeful cure for what ails the Raptors.
After hosting the New York Knicks last night, the Raptors jumped on a plane to Philadelphia to take on a rested 76ers squad that is still looking for their first win on the season.
Well…at least the players and coaching staff are still looking for their first win. The rest of the organization would be perfectly happy to move to 0-8, as the 76ers are in year three of the most blatant tank that the NBA has ever seen.
Philadelphia has actively removed competent NBA players from their roster, only to intentionally add young players who produce below replacement level, while taking on wasted money for future assets from other teams. The name of the game for the 76ers is to only win one night of the year: Draft Night.
To date this has yielded incredibly inconsistent results. From drafting and then trading Michael Carter-Williams, to Dario Sarich staying multiple years in Europe rather than make the jump to the NBA, and continually drafting centers (several of which already had significant injuries in their young careers).
Despite the tire-fire of a roster that is Philadelphia, they can still cause issues for opponents due to a few key players that can go off, and a coaching staff that has gotten the team to buy into a defensive approach…at least last year they did.
Last year saw the 76ers finish in the top half of the league (13) in regards to defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions), a remarkable feat for a team so devoid of general talent. This success has yet to carry forward to 2015-16 though as Philadelphia is currently allowing 105.7 points per 100 possessions, fourth worst in the league to date.
Simply put, it’s easy to see that Philadelphia is having trouble stopping anyone, while also being the worst offensive team in the league. Looking at their numbers, it’s hard to even imagine them ever winning a game despite the inevitability of the matter (although 0-82 would be an incredible achievement for Sam Hinkie and the front office).
Philadelphia attempts a relatively high number of three pointers per game (11th highest in the league), but are one of the worst shooting teams in the league as they hit just 30.6 percent of their attempts. Sauce Castillo is currently the greatest example of this trend. He leads the 76ers at 8.2 attempts per game, the fourth highest in the league behind only Stephen Curry (10.9), James Harden (10.8), and Damian Lillard (8.8).
Sauce is a shooter, and if he’s going to stick in the league that is what he is going to need to do. The problem though is that he is shooting just 28.6 percent of his long range attempts on the year. His shot may not be falling, but Toronto will need to be conscious of running him off the line.
Monday night saw Sauce shoot just 2-for-13, a feat that Toronto will do their best to make him repeat.
The most significant battle though will be Jonas Valancuinas against the Philadelphia front court of Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel. The two are leading Philadelphia in minutes on the season, and are currently all that they have to show from their numerous appearances at the top of the draft.
…that and Joel Embiid’s room service bill for pitchers of Shirley Temples.
Okafor has had an excellent start to his career, averaging 19.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He is providing exactly what was expected of him with a high usage rate of 28.8, and being an absolute sieve on defence. Okafor is averaging a plus/minus of -14.7, and is allowing his man to shoot 58.4 percent from within six feet of the rim.
Philadelphia will need to make the tough decision of who to guard Valanciunas. They will likely have Okafor guard Valanciunas in the post, as Noel has the better chance of sticking with Patterson and Scola outside of the post. He is also the better help defender.
Eventually Philadelphia will come across an injured team, or a tired team, or an apathetic team. Just remember, it was the 21-61 Raptors that provided the 1995-96 Bulls with one of only 10 loses they suffered.
Despite the challenges of picturing Philadelphia winning any games at the moment, the reality is that as much as the Raptors need Philadelphia at the moment, Philadelphia needs the Raptors.
Carroll is struggling with planter fasciitis and could use another night of rest, while Ross is out indefinitely with a left thumb ligament injury. The Raptors are that banged up team, and with these injuries they will likely need to rely on Norman Powell for some extended run.
As much as I love Powell, there is a reason why he has played a total of 12 minutes. He is currently shooting just .143, and has a net rating of -50.8. The majority of his minutes have been played alongside of either Anthony Bennett or Lucas Nogueira, and units that feature the deepest parts of the Raptors bench.
Going into the season my biggest fear for the Raptors was any health issues that might arise. With Ujiri’s desire to stock the end of the bench with young talent the Raptor are far from deep. Two quick injuries to wing players and we are well into these deepest parts of the bench.
All that said, I’d be shocked if the Raptors lose tonight…but anything can happen.
