Nick Nurse and the Toronto Raptors have stunned the Philadelphia 76ers improving the series to 3-2. Philadelphia still has an opportunity to close out tonight but the Raptors may have something to say about that. Let’s breakdown the Game 6 matchup in Toronto:
Pascal Siakam has led the charge for the Raptors in both Games 4 and 5 helping his team win 2 games in a row over the Sixers while staying alive in this series. Siakam is averaging 28 points and shooting over 50 percent in Toronto’s 2 wins over Philadelphia despite playing short-handed. As for the Sixers, they desperately need someone to rise to the occasion to help close out the gritty Toronto Raptors in Game 6. Joel Embiid has been playing very subpar due to the Raptor’s defense and while dealing with an injury in his shooting hand. The MVP candidate is averaging only 24.8 points during this series compared to his 30.6 points during the regular season. Embiid must play through the pain for the Sixers to get the closeout victory or else they would enter a Game 7 at home, and that’s the last thing this team needs after last year’s collapse.
Tobias Harris has scored over 20 points in both Game 1 and Game 2 vs Toronto. His scoring has been down in the last two games. During the regular season, Harris averaged 16.9 points on the road.
Raptors head coach Nick Nurse has made major adjustments helping his team get two wins in a row over Philadelphia staying alive in this playoff series. The injury to Fred VanVleet might be a blessing in disguise as the Raptors have played with a bigger lineup becoming more versatile and athletic on defense frustrating the Sixers. With Nurse being tied to the LA Lakers coaching job next season people may question his true commitment to the Raptors for the remainder of this postseason run.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers is feeling the heat with his most recent outburst towards the Philadelphia media. With that being said, Rivers may now be coaching for his job with the Sixers leading 3-2 in the series. It may sound farfetched that a legendary coach would be under fire after moving into 4th place all-time in coaching playoff wins (101) passing former 76ers coach Larry Brown. Rivers has had a history of playoff collapse, will this year be another?
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