Game ones of a playoff series are intended to feel out an opponent. Not if you are Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam. In the highly anticipated Game 1 of the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers series, Leonard and Siakam shined. The Raptors were down 7-2 early in the opening quarter. There was a call for…
Three minutes into Game 5 and Kyle Lowry was dominating. The Toronto Raptors point guard had nine points and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field. Lowry’s early success epitomized the game as a whole. The Raptors dominated the Magic through a complete team performance, leading as much as 37 points. Their 115-96 victory gave…
D.J. Augustin’s 25-point Game 1 performance against the Toronto Raptors felt like a distant memory. The Magic point guard not only had a hot hand but the Raptors defense let him have too much space at the perimeter to make those shots. For reference, here is the Magic shot chart from Game 1: Orlando’s success…
**This is Part Three of a 24-part series, looking back at the Toronto Raptors 2019 Playoff Run that concluded with the franchise winning its inaugural NBA Championship** Halfway through the third quarter of Game 3, Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic gave his team a 59-57 lead with a three-pointer. The shot gave the Magic its…
**This is Part Two of a 24-part series, looking back at the Toronto Raptors 2019 Playoff Run that concluded with the franchise winning its inaugural NBA Championship** Kawhi Leonard needed just 13 seconds to score in Game 2. This foreshadowed how the rest of the game unfolded for the Toronto Raptors. Leonard’s game-high 37 points…
**This is Part One of a 24-part article series, looking back at the Toronto Raptors 2019 Playoff Run that concluded with the franchise winning its inaugural NBA Championship** If one were to write a history piece on the Toronto Raptors franchise, success in postseason “Game 1’s” would not be a defining feature. Before their 2019…
TOR Raptors 95 Final Box Score 116 PHI 76ers B- P. Siakam34 MIN, 20 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 7-15 FG, 0-3 3FG, 6-8 FT, 1 BLK, 0 TO, -18 +/- Siakam feasted early as Philly reverted back to Tobias Harris guarding him, but after Brett Brown made the adjustment to put Embiid…
Before I preview game one of this exciting Eastern Conference semifinals series between the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers, I’d like to highlight some of the amazing work my colleagues at RR have put together to preview the series: Series preview podcast with Samson Folk and Louis Zatzman Cooper Smither’s video analysis on the 76ers…
A coast-to-coast win to close out the first round. The Raptors brought a dominant performance to finish off the Magic.
The curse lives. The Raptors lose another game 1. Everything is terrible.