Doc Rivers Reveals Message to Sixers After Game 1 Victory vs. Raptors

After the 2021-2022 NBA season concluded, the Philadelphia 76ers finished with a 1-3 record against the Toronto Raptors. As the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, the Sixers drew the fifth-seeded Raptors in the first round.

Considering the regular season record, the Sixers had many skeptics going into their Saturday night matchup. However, the Sixers clearly didn’t let their regular season struggles against the Raptors affect their performance in the first of a possible seven-game series.

Out of the gate, the Sixers outscored Toronto 35-27. In the first half, the Sixers led by as much as 21 points. While holding double-digit leads has been a struggle for the Sixers throughout the 2021-2022 season, they proved on Saturday that they weren’t going to go down the same path.

A tremendous third-quarter performance from Sixers’ second-year guard Tyrese Maxey allowed Philadelphia to outscore the Raptors 38-37 in the first 12 minutes of the second half. Going into the fourth quarter, the Sixers were teasing a potential blowout win as they led 107-88.

After outscoring the Raptors once again in the fourth quarter, the Sixers cruised to a 131-111 victory over Toronto, taking Game 1 in South Philly. While the Sixers had a lot to celebrate on Saturday night, 76ers head coach Doc Rivers sent an important message to his team after the game.

Only One Victory

“We won one game, honestly,” said Rivers during his postgame press conference. Knowing that there is still plenty of basketball left to be played, Rivers wants to ensure his team doesn’t get too comfortable and cocky after the win, especially because he saw areas where the Sixers could improve without even watching the film.

“There are things that I saw that we have to do better — absolutely do better on offense, too,” he continued. “There are things that I’m looking forward to watching the film that we absolutely have to do better and should do better. So, that’s encouraging, I guess. Defensively, we left the corner three or four times, and their main shooter [was open]. So, there are things we have to get better at, and this is just one game, and we have to improve and understand that every night.”

The Sixers will meet for a Sunday morning film session at their practice facility. Then, they’ll return to South Philly on Monday night for Game 2 against the Raptors. Despite kicking the series off with a promising start, the Sixers seem far from satisfied after picking up just one postseason win. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.