What Went Right for 76ers vs. Raptors on Friday Night?
The 2022-2023 NBA season is young, but the Philadelphia 76ers have hit some significant lows early on. Considering the Sixers entered the new year as Eastern Conference favorites in the eyes of many after they made some impressive offseason changes, their first five games left many wondering just how much of a threat they really are in a stacked Eastern Conference.
With losses against the Celtics, Bucks, and Spurs, the Sixers entered the second week of the year 0-3. After grabbing a win over the Pacers, the 76ers hit the road for a four-game road trip, beginning with two games in Toronto.
Philly failed to find success in Toronto on Wednesday night. As the Raptors entered the matchup more motivated than ever to get back at the Sixers after Philly ended Toronto’s playoff run last year, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers sensed that the opponent carried way more energy than his squad on Wednesday.
“We knocked them out in the playoffs, right? There was no doubt they were going to come out tonight with more,” said Rivers after Wednesday’s game. “We didn’t meet it. That’s disappointing.”
While Rivers was disappointed in the fact his team dropped to 1-4 with Wednesday’s loss, he hoped that another lousy showing from the Sixers would motivate his team to bring more fire in the rematch, which took place on Friday night.
“Now, we’ll be the one,” said Rivers. “We lost… they kicked our butt, and they were more physical. So, we’ll see how we come out.”
The Sixers were at a disadvantage on paper Friday night. In the hours leading up to the game, 76ers center Joel Embiid was added to the injury report due to right knee injury recovery. Before the game, Rivers mentioned that Embiid’s knee was sore, and he was a game-time decision. Shortly after, the Sixers ruled the big man out for the night.
Without Embiid, the Sixers went small against the Raptors and shifted PJ Tucker to the five spot. They promoted the backup guard De’Anthony Melton to the starting five for the night to play alongside Tucker, Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, and James Harden.
The Sixers found success early as they moved the ball with ease and created open shots from beyond the arc. Tyrese Maxey, who put up five shots from the field, was perfect in the first quarter of action as he scored 14 of Philadelphia’s 28 points.
Riding the hot hand, the Sixers continued to create opportunities for Maxey, and the young guard delivered. With another five shots from the field, Maxey wrapped up the first half as a perfect 10-10 from the field with 27 points.
After a strong first half, which featured 52 percent shooting from deep, the Sixers struggled to maintain their offensive success out of the gate in the third quarter. With Maxey cooling down for nine minutes, the Sixers shot just 6-20 from the field and hit on one of ten threes.
Although the Sixers were outscored by the Raptors in the third quarter, they never lost their lead. Once again, Maxey caught fire and was nearly perfect from the field in the fourth quarter. As he tacked on another 13 points, Maxey exceeded his previous career-high of 39 points by producing 44 points on Friday.
“Obviously, Maxey was the player of the game,” said Sixers coach Doc Rivers. “[He was] the star of the game with his rebounding, scoring, and being aggressive.”
Maxey will get his credit for Philly’s 112-90 victory over the Raptors, rightfully so, but Rivers felt that everybody had a hand in the win, whether it shows up in the statistics or not.
“I thought it was just a really good team win,” said Rivers. “Like, every single guy came in and contributed.”
Before the game reached garbage time, the Sixers expanded their rotation for the night and utilized ten players. Matisse Thybulle and Shake Milton, who have previously struggled to find the floor as they’ve been left out of the rotation to start the year, garnered some notable playing time on Friday, and they received praise from Rivers. Of course, the usual suspects received their credit as well.
“James (Harden) had 11 points, and basically what he did was drag the whole team with him and passed the ball, letting our guys attack,” Rivers explained. “That’s hard to do all game, and he did that. Tobias (Harris) struggled making shots. We put him back in, and he makes two shots. Matisse (Thybulle) comes in, and on the first play, he stands with the ball completely frozen, and then the next two times, he makes a shot. Shake (Milton) makes a shot. I thought the other guy De’Anthony (Melton) was incredible and his numbers won’t show it because he got all deflections and he got his fingers on the ball. We put him on (Pascal) Siakam, which is unconventional as you can possibly get. We did a lot of good things. This was a good team win.”
With Friday night’s victory over the Raptors, the 76ers even the regular season series at 1-1 and improve their overall record to 2-4. While they still have a long way to go, the Sixers certainly feel optimistic moving forward, as they looked much better in the shorthanded win on the road.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
