There is a certain sweetness to watching the Toronto Raptors of late. DeMar DeRozan is playing at a level that this franchise has rarely seen any one individual sustain for such a period, Vince Carter and Kyle Lowry included. The team continues to learn about itself at the defensive end of the floor, ranking third in defensive efficiency since the All-Star break despite some bumps in the road. The ball movement, while still too fleeting, is at least a point of emphasis, and it’s helped shooters round into form at an important time.
Part of it, though, is the removal of the spectre of any sort of danger, allowing these storylines to be enjoyed without any risk, or without any trepidation. Last night, the Raptors locked up a long-inevitable top-four seed that insures home court in the first round. They’re fighting with Washington for the third seed in the Eastern Conference, yes, but the idea that third may not even be preferable to fourth renders that chase quite innocent. There is not a lot on the line, and while that might cause some ebbs in attention or investment, it’s made watching this team try to peak entering the postseason quite a joy.
On Sunday, they’ll play perhaps their most meaningless game yet, drawing an opponent who has no presumption about a playoff position. As the Raptors have won seven of their last eight, seven of those games came against teams fighting for their playoff lives, assuring a spirited battle. Sunday will not be that. The Philadelphia 76ers are toast, and they’re acknowledging as much. They still play hard, but if there were a final game on the schedule to identify as a night for rest (even on a non back-to-back), or a night to get some younger players additional run ahead of next week’s dress rehearsals (if Kyle Lowry returns), this would be it.
And if they opt to just treat it like a normal game, there’s ample recent evidence that simply watching the Raptors do what they do will be time well spent.
The game tips off at 6 on Sportsnet One and Sportsnet 590.
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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: Man, I’m so sorry. Again. Two times ago when we talked I was super-apologetic about the lot in life for Sixers fans, and then in January there was actual, genuine, legitimate optimism. We were talking about a Ben Simmons return and Joel Embiid’s All-Star case! Things have…fallen apart since. I’ll try to keep the questions that follow as positive as possible, but I have to ask: Can you ever trust again?
Andrew Unterberger: The not-so-funny part of this is that when you say “I’m so sorry” to me now, I forget what we’re even currently most sad about.
Can I ever trust again? Seems unlikely. I’m already basically presuming that Embiid and Simmons are gonna be out for most if not all of the 2017-’18 season, just because the health / recovery situations for both dudes have been so shady for so long that I can already see the out for summer league – out for start of season – out until Christmas – out until before the All-Star Break — out until after the All-Star Break — shut down for the season timeline playing out for them with disturbing predictability. Have to assume until proven otherwise at this point.
Blake Murphy: One remaining bright spot for Philly has been the play of The Homie, Dario Saric. For my money, it’s down to Saric and Malcolm Brogdon for Rookie of the Year, if we assume Embiid isn’t going to be considered because of playing time. If you feel he’s deserving, give me your case for Saric as ROY.
Andrew Unterberger: Well, I join my fellow Process Truther Michael Levin in his campaign that Joel Embiid should still be Rookie of the Year, on the grounds that he played enough games for his consistent production not to be considerable as any kind of fluke, and that while he played he was very obviously the best rookie. I would also support the idea of The Starters’ Trey Kerby that Embiid and Saric should just split the award, with Joel essentially winning it for the season’s first half and Saric for the second. As for why Saric should win over Malcolm Brogdon, I’m not really interested in having any logic-based argument about this. Dario saved this season from unmitigated disaster for Sixers fans and the idea that Brogdon or Jaylen Brown “contributing to a playoff team” should mean more than that is preposterous.
Blake Murphy: Stretching for Sixers positives here…umm, Robert Covington remainsused to be a cool piece…uhh…what are your three favorite albums of 2017 so far?
Andrew Unterberger: Robert Covington was a cool piece until he tore his meniscus (those damn slippery menisci!) and was ruled out for the season. He’ll probably miss all of 2017-’18 too, why not. Top three albums of 2017 so far:
3. Jay Som – Everybody Works
2. Sampha – (Trust the) Process
1. Japandroids – Near to the Wild Heart of Life
Blake Murphy: T.J. McConnell continues to look the part of at least competent NBA backup. The big question – other than what he does for his calves and what his hairspray budget is – is who he’ll eventually be backing up. While it’s hardly time to think this way for Raptors fans, give me Philly’s elevator pitch to pluck home town free agent Kyle Lowry from Toronto this summer.
Andrew Unterberger: The elevator pitch to Kyle Lowry is to play him some Freeway and Todd Rundgren, remind him how much he misses Wawa, and point out in no uncertain terms that he is the exact player that we are currently need on our (ideal, healthy) roster: A floor-stretching, playmaking lead guard that can play off the ball, come up big in the clutch but also cede the spotlight when need be. And we let him watch as we have our entire medical staff transferred to Qatar.
Blake Murphy: Wrestlemania is tonight. I’m guessing you’re not a fan, because you’re among the smarter people I know. If you are, what are you most looking forward to on the card? If you’re not, take your best guess at what noted WWE fan Joel Embiid will use as entrance music when he eventually makes the switch to pro graps. (Side note: Trying to translate Embiid’s basketball uniqueness to wrestling is a ton of fun. He’d be a 7-foot high-flyer! Eat your heart out, Luke Harper.)
Andrew Unterberger: My friends will be watching Wrestlemania but I will not, as I am committed to covering the American Country Music Awards that night. I predict Keith Urban double-crosses Luke Bryan with a statue to the back while Carrie Underwood steals the Entertainer of the Year belt. And JoJo eventually comes out to the beat switch in Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares,” of course.
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Raptors updates
Head coach Dwane Casey hasn’t indicated that anyone will be getting rest, but this game or one of next week’s back-to-back games would make sense as a time to do so. DeMar DeRozan would be the leading candidate, followed by probably Serge Ibaka. It makes sense, to me, to get that rest in before a potential Lowry return, too, so that any games Lowry gets into. Lowry, by the way, did not practice Saturday, so all eyes will be on Monday’s session, the team’s last practice until next Satruday due to the back-to-back.
Short of any rest, you know what the rotation will look like by now. All the 905ers are up, by the way.
PG: Cory Joseph, Delon Wright, Fred VanVleet
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Norman Powell
SF: DeMarre Carroll, P.J. Tucker, Bruno Caboclo
PF: Serge Ibaka, Patrick Patterson, Pascal Siakam
C: Jonas Valanciunas, Jakob Poeltl, Lucas Nogueira
TBD: None
ASSIGNED: None
OUT: Kyle Lowry
76ers updates
The 76ers are so banged up that they’ve been granted a hardship exception. Basically, they’ve been so banged up for so long that they may as well just be allowed to use a 16-man roster permanently at this point. What’s the harm? They’ve used that exception to sign Alex Poythress from the D-League, a player the Raptors 905 assignees should be fairly familiar with from his time excelling with the Delaware 87ers.
Here’s a look at who the Sixers are down:
Joel Embiid – We can’t have nice things
Jahlil Okafor – We can’t have the warranty replacement for nice things
Ben Simmons – We’re not even allowed to think about having nice things
Robert Covington – We can’t even have the things we get when we know we can’t have the nice things other people have
Jerryd Bayless – We can’t even have not-nice things
Sergio Rodriguez – Minor hamstring injury that will likely be updated next week as a missing leg
And as of this writing, the Poythress signing is not official, so they may only have nine players handy in this one.
PG: T.J. McConnell
SG:Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Nik Stauskas
SF: Justin Anderson, Gerald Henderson, (Alex Poythress)
PF: Dario Saric, Shawn Long
C: Richaun Holmes, Tiago Splitter
ASSIGNED: None
TBD: Alex Poythress
OUT: Ben Simmons, Jerryd Bayless, Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, Sergio Rodriguez, Robert Covington
The line
The Raptors are 11-point favorites with a robust 211.5 over-under. They opened as 12.5-point favorites, a line that was apparently a little too strong for here in April.
