What a difference a couple of weeks – and the presence of an enormous basketball miracle – makes.
As the Toronto Raptors get set to visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, there’s a different air about their hosts. The 76ers aren’t just improving, they might actually be good. Or at least good-ish, as they’ve shown in the new year. They’ve won six of their last eight, and while they remain dead last in offensive efficiency, they’ve climbed to a respectable 13th on the defensive end. Joel Embiid is a problem. They play very hard, and they’re starting to believe in the returns from the (sorry) process.
The Raptors certainly can’t overlook them – they allowed this team to hang around a little too long in their previous meeting – and they probably won’t. It’s telling that with a back-to-back, they opted to rest Kyle Lowry against the Nets and not the Sixers. Even if that had more to do with Lowry wanting to play in his hometown, it’s notable. Toronto is going to be ready for Philadelphia, or Philadelphia is going to come out swinging, a now-legitimate threat to put a team like the Raptors in an uncomfortable position (what, like the back of a Volkswagen?).
This one should be a lot of fun. And not voyeuristic, look-at-the-Sixers fun. Real, genuine, basketball fun.
The game tips off at 7 on TSN 1/4/5 and TSN 1050.
—
To help set the stage for the game, we reached out to Andrew Unterberger of The 700 Level, and we didn’t feel bad about making him talk Sixers for a change!
Blake Murphy: When I emailed to ask if you were down for some questions, part of your response was “I can’t remember the last time talking about the Sixers was this much fun.” Man, I am SO happy for you, Levin, Max, and the rest of the Sixers hive. You guys deserve this. The question, I guess, is whether this is a nice bright spot in a season that’s still all about building for the long-haul, or if this is the beginning of some meaningful momentum for the franchise?
Andrew Unterberger: Well, it’s hard to answer a question like this about the Sixers franchise in totality, just because Embiid on his own changes everything so dramatically. We’re 2-9 in games he doesn’t play, and besides Nerlens Noel — who we spent half a year trying to trade and/or alienate — there’s really no one on the active roster who you’d consider a blue-chip player, the kind that future contending rosters are built around. For that reason I’d mostly say this is still just a cute diversion for a team that still has a long way to go — they still probably won’t even win 30 games this year — but every game where Embiid plays, they have a chance, and the Sixers haven’t had a player they could say that about in at least a decade.
Blake Murphy: Obviously, everything fun and happy starts with Joel Embiid. The Process has quickly become a league-wide favorite, and for good reason. He’s campaigning for votes, trolling Hassan Whiteside, begging for dates, and mimicking Triple H. The NBA should, to borrow a wrestling phrase Embiid would surely appreciate, push this guy to the moon as one of its central figures, right?
Andrew Unterberger: I think it’s safe to say that there’s no player in professional sports whose relationship with their fanbase is quite like Joel’s with the Sixers. A friend of mine asked me the other day if this was the most likeable Sixers team since the ’01 finals team, and I guess it probably is — but 85% of that is just Embiid. When a group of renegade Hinkie cultists takes a bus trip to D.C. to see the Sixers play, not only does he hang out after the game to say hi and take a picture, he tweets the pic out himself, and he even uses the friggin’ #BusTheProcess hashtag. He’s funny, he’s smart, he’s loyal, he’s really just one of us. It’s unbelievable.
Of course, he won’t have the same relationship with fans nationally that he will locally — part of why we love him so much — but he’s such a natural entertainer and gregarious dude that it seems impossible that anyone could resist adoring him. (He even turned DeMarcus Cousins into a giggling, ass-slapping 12-year-old.) Really, the NBA hasn’t seen an off-court player like him since Young Shaq, and even at Shaq’s most loveable, there was still a calculated sort of marketing sense that you never really feel with Joel — and then of course, a vindictive, egomaniacal side of Shaq’s playfulness that emerged shortly after. Maybe Embiid has that in him too, and we’ll see it five years from now, but right now, you really couldn’t script a more likeable star.
Blake Murphy: On the court, there’s as much to love about Embiid. Taking guys off the dribble, getting out in transition, throwing down massive dunks, and even quarterbacking the offense, calling out plays and directing teammates. Is there a limit on just how high he might rank among NBA players eventually?
Andrew Unterberger: If Joel does have a ceiling, it’s higher than any two-way big’s since at least Tim Duncan. There’s really nothing he doesn’t do well — he’s already an elite rim protector and foul-drawer, he’s a good shooter, smart post player and willing passer, he can switch onto just about anyone, and he’s starting to rebound at a solid rate. He makes rookie mistakes, but he’s also getting better at everything as the season goes (except his three-point shooting, which was always unsustainable). His teammates love him, his coaches love him, the franchise loves him. I’m sure Pelicans, Wolves and Knicks fans would all vouch for their guy — understandably so, and I’m sure there’s a debate to be had — but I wouldn’t trade JoJo for anyone right now.
Blake Murphy: Sorry to keep on the Embiid topic (no, I’m not), but fun #NBAVote campaign aside, is he worthy of an All-Star spot? I had him in, but it seems like only three of him, Paul Millsap, Paul George, and Kevin Love will make the cut.
Andrew Unterberger: The All-Star question really comes down as to what you think an All-Star spot should be rewarding — the best players, the players who were the most productive, or the players the fans want to see the most. If it’s the first or third, Embiid should get in no problem — there aren’t ten better players than him in the East right now, and there definitely aren’t five more entertaining — but if it’s the second, it’s an argument, mostly because he’s missed 11 games already this season, is only allowed to play 28 minutes a night, and only ranks eighth on the team in total minutes.
Of course, even with those missed games and a season-long minutes restriction, he’s still leading the team in total points, offensive rebounds, blocks, and free throws — more than double the next-closest in the last two categories — so he’s still been the team’s most productive player by a pretty considerable margin. And the team’s won 11 games of the 28 with him in the lineup — which of course is one more than they won all of last year — and, as many have dumbfoundedly pointed out, they actually have a positive scoring differential with him on the floor. I mean, put Paul Millsap in over him if you really wanna, but I can’t personally understand why you would.
Blake Murphy: There’s more to be excited about that I’m ignoring so far. T.J. McConnell is actually good (/cues Vindicated by Dashboard), Ben Simmons is playing 5-on-0 ball, Bryan Colangelo hasn’t ruined anything yet. What are you most looking forward to about the second half of the season?
Andrew Unterberger: Well, the big question for the remainder of the season is of course if and when Ben Simmons is coming back. It does seem like they expect him to play this year, which is obviously very exciting, though I’m more bearish on Simmons than some — I think he’s a tricky fit for this Sixers squad, and though I imagine he’ll make his teammates’ lives easier in due time, I think they’ll probably take a short-term step back as they figure out how to integrate him this season. Still, I’m exceedingly pumped for the prospect of a Simmons-Embiid pick and roll, and I’m happy to sacrifice a few Ws this season to (hopefully) get to see it start to gel over the year’s final games.
—
Raptors updates
As if the Raptors weren’t thin enough in the frontcourt already, Lucas Nogueira took a shot to the head in Tuesday’s game and did not return. He reported having blurred vision and was entered into the league’s concussion protocol, which probably makes him unlikely for this one. Depending on how the initial tests came back, the sweet-shooting combo-big man would have to show an absence of symptoms through a certain number of activity progressions to get the OK to play. I think at this point, it’s well-established how touchy I am when it comes to head injuries, and I can’t imagine the Raptors would be anything but cautious, even if Nogueira sitting would leave them short on bodies. Here’s hoping Nogueira feels better soon and has avoided a concussion altogether, because, speaking from experience, they can be terrifying and frustrating.
Patrick Patterson also remains out, at least until he’s back in. There’s been no sense of when he might return – he’s missed seven of the last nine games with a knee strain – but it never seemed likely he was going to play Tuesday. Whether or not he goes Wednesday is a question we don’t have enough context to answer, and the lack of a shootaround on a back-to-back scenario will leave us in the dark until close to tip-0ff. Delon Wright and Jared Sullinger, meanwhile, remain sidelined until we hear otherwise, and they’ve still only gotten one full practice day in.
If Patterson and Nogueira sit, the Raptors will probably turn the starting power forward position back over to Pascal Siakam. Siakam looked great in his emergency minutes on Tuesday and always brings a nice energy to the proceedings, which will be necessary against Philadelphia’s bigs. The Raptors will probably also be forced to play small – doable against Ersan Ilyasova and Dario Saric but less so if the Sixers go dual-centers again – or do something they’ve rarely done in their big-man shuffle and play Jakob Poeltl at the four alongside Jonas Valanciunas.
It’s going to be a weird game, rotation-wise, if both injured bigs are absent. Weird is fun, though!
PG: Kyle Lowry, Cory Joseph, Fred VanVleet
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell
SF: DeMarre Carroll, Terrence Ross
PF: Pascal Siakam, Bruno Caboclo
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Jakob Poeltl
Assigned:
TBD: Patrick Patterson, Lucas Nogueira
OUT: Delon Wright, Jared Sullinger
76ers updates
As I write this, I’m watching Richaun Holmes at Hershey Centre at the D-League Showcase. It is safe to assume, then, that he is not playing for the 76ers this evening. That could leave the 76ers thin up front, too, but it sounds as if they’ll be fine – Jahlil Okafor is probable (he’s dealing with an ankle injury), and everyone’s favorite rumor Nerlens Noel, likewise dealing with an ankle injury, expects to return for this one. Philadelphia with their full complement of lottery bigs should be interesting, and a nice challenge for the Raptors’ youngsters who could be thrust into duty.
Joel Embiid is expected to remain on his 28-minute limit for the foreseeable future, and that’s both a blessing and a curse here. It’s nice for the Raptors, who will only have to try to contain the most electrifying man in basketball for a little over half the game, but it’s disappointing as a fan of fun and basketball and all the beautiful things in the world that our exposure to him is once again limited (he sat out one of their earlier meetings but wouldn’t seem likely to here). He’s a monster, and it’s going to take the best efforts of Valanciunas, Siakam, Poeltl, and whoever else to slow him down.
Elsewhere, the Sixers will likely be thin at the point as my dude and leg-day aficionado T.J. McConnell is dealing with a wrist injury he wants to try to play through but isn’t certain to. If he can’t go, it’s all Sergio Rodriguez and 10-day call-up Chasson Randle.
PG: Sergio Rodriguez, (T.J. McConnell), Chasson Randle
SG: Gerald Henderson, Nik Stauskas
SF: Robert Covington, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
PF: Ersan Ilyasova, Nerlens Noel, Dario Saric
C: Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor
ASSIGNED: Richaun Holmes
TBD: Nerlens Noel, T.J. McConnell, Jahlil Okafor
OUT: Ben Simmons, Jerryd Bayless
LATE UPDATE – Embiid is questionable due to an illness. He missed shootaround.
Embiid questionable – did not shoot around. Battling illness. TJ McConnell (wrist) questionable. Nerlens (ankle) probable- did shoot around
— Dei Lynam (@dlynamCSN) January 18, 2017
The line
The Raptors are only 5-point favorites, which speaks to how far the Sixers have come, the back-to-back scenario, and how banged up the Raptors may be. I’m not going to even hazard a prediction until we know the status of the six players with some degree of uncertainty to their status.
