Philadelphia 76ers Will Open 2022 NBA Playoffs vs. Toronto Raptors

The 2022 NBA Playoffs are set to begin in under weeks. After finishing the 2021-2022 NBA season with a 51-31 record, the Philadelphia 76ers have clinched a playoff berth for the fifth-straight season.

Going into their Sunday night matchup against the Detroit Pistons, the Sixers had an opportunity to move up in the Eastern Conference standings. 

As they were the fourth seed, trailing the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Miami Heat, a win over Detroit and a Boston loss to the Memphis Grizzlies could’ve allowed the Sixers to gain a lower-ranked opponent for the first round of the playoffs.

But the Celtics didn’t have any issues taking down the short-staffed Grizzlies on Sunday night. Therefore, Philadelphia’s shorthanded 118-106 win over the Pistons didn’t do the team any favors for their eventual playoff run.

With the Sixers officially locked into the fourth seed, they are expected to play against the Toronto Raptors in the first round. As usual, the Sixers and the Raptors met for four matchups this year with two games in Toronto and two in Philadelphia. 

During the first outing in Philly, the Sixers fell short to the Raptors with a 115-109 loss. At the time, Sixers All-Star Joel Embiid was out due to COVID-related issues while the other All-Star James Harden wasn’t a member of the team just yet.

One month later, the Sixers and the Raptors met for a matchup in Toronto. While Harden was still a member of the Brooklyn Nets, Embiid’s presence in that late December matchup offered the Sixers a boost as they picked up a 114-109 win.

A few months later, the Sixers and the Raptors met for the final time in South Philly this season. It marked the first time the Raptors faced the Joel Embiid-James Harden duo. However, a shorthanded Toronto team wasn’t fazed. For the second time this year, the Raptors defeated the Sixers with a 93-88 win.

Then when the two teams met for the fourth and final time last Thursday, a shorthanded Raptors once again got the best of the Sixers. Although Philadelphia had control of the game for a majority of the matchup, their fourth-quarter woes caused the 76ers to take on a 119-114 loss.

Despite going 1-3 against the Raptors in the regular season, the Sixers have an opportunity to bounce back in the postseason as they will begin a seven-game series against the Raptors in a couple of weeks. It will mark the first time the Sixers and the Raptors will meet for a postseason series since the 2018-2019 NBA season. 

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