Forever In Our Heart: Sad News, The Philadelphia 76ers Key Player Died in a Car Accident.
Forever In Our Heart: Sad News, The Philadelphia 76ers Key Player Died in a Car Accident.
Early on, the Toronto Raptors had completed their task.
Although it wasn’t pretty, the Raptors showed they weren’t going to be intimidated as Fred VanVleet was making clutch threes. The Raptors were establishing the tone early on, in contrast to Game 1. Toronto’s one-point lead at the end of the first quarter was a significant improvement.
The Raptors can only win this series if they defeat the Philadelphia 76ers while Embiid is sidelined. The Raptors have a shot if they can compete even when the probable MVP is on the court and win the minutes without Embiid. The 76ers, however, only needed a 23-11 surge sans Embiid to start the second quarter in order to defeat the Raptors 112-97, go to +12 in Embiid-less minutes this series, and secure a 2-0 lead when the series returns to Toronto.
Raptors Still Face Challenges Regarding Embiid Size
Embiid may be double-teamed, which leaves shooters positioned around the perimeter and open lanes for other players to exploit. However, if the Raptors intend to apply significant pressure to the 76ers’ big man, they must force him to pay. In Game 2, Embiid once again forced Toronto into early foul trouble, but it just wasn’t the case. Embiid gracefully made 12 trips to the free-throw line in the first quarter while OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Thad Young each received two first-quarter fouls.
Despite the early foul trouble, Toronto rode their stars, but with foul trouble, the defense cannot function at the same level. The Raptors were unable to produce any offense in the halfcourt once the 76ers locked in, and things quickly fell apart.
“It’s tough, we changed a few things schematically, I thought they made a real concentrated effort at getting him the ball a lot more in a lot deeper areas tonight,” Nick Nurse, the Raptors coach, said. “I’m encouraged because I thought we started turning him over a little bit and he just about turned it over probably another handful of them but I think it’s pretty good night there if we can cut those free throws in half there.”
In Game 2, Embiid’s 19 points in the first quarter was followed by a 31-point effort, and Tyrese Maxey again dazzled the Raptors with his quickness, scoring 23 points on 9 of 16 shots. Midway through the fourth quarter, he made his greatest three-pointer of the game to put an end to a 15-0 Raptors surge and permanently shut out Toronto.
As the last seconds of the fourth quarter elapsed, Embiid and Nurse seemed to have a brief talk with one other.
“He was saying to me that, you know, ‘I’m going to keep making all the free throws if you keep fouling,’ and I said ‘well, you might have to,'” Post-game, the nurse stated.
Raptors As VanVleet Cools, They Offense Stalls
Toronto’s offense was rumbling early thanks to VanVleet’s scorching 5-for-9 first quarter, but the Raptors couldn’t afford to give him any break, and it ended up costing them. He participated in the first half for the full twenty-four minutes, and by the time the second quarter began, his legs were completely broken. He once had a lengthy possession during which he missed three consecutive shots and watched two wide-open three-pointers miss the hoop following back-to-back offensive rebounds.
VanVleet eventually put up a 20-point effort after playing 44 minutes and going 7-for-23 from the field to close the game after a 15-point first quarter.
“My responsibility is to improve,” VanVleet declared. “I’m always going to take responsibility for our team’s performance and we didn’t get the win so, you just put the blame on me.”
Anunoby’s performance, which appeared to be dominant both inside and outside the box for Toronto, was the only encouraging thing. With 26 points on 10-for-14 shooting in the playoffs, he set a new career high by posturing smaller opponents in the lane and nailing his three-pointers.
Trent’s Illnesses Are Still There
Gary Trent Jr. made an effort to play despite a sickness that has been bothering him for almost a week, but the Raptors would have been better off without the 23-year-old shooting guard in Game 2 after he missed practice on Sunday and shootaround on Monday. Despite his courageous performance, he was obviously not the same player as he ended the game with zero points in just ten minutes and was unable to muster any offensive momentum.
Don’t forget that he was worthless. I probably ought to have waited for him. However, he tested it out there,” Nurse remarked.
Before playing in Game 3 in Toronto at 8 p.m. ET, the Raptors will take the day off to recuperate at home.
“We’ve been here before, some of us obviously, never happy after a loss, it’s not a rah rah mood… but it’s no sour mood, nobody is sad or defeated,” Van Vleet added. “It’s the first to four and I’ve seen it plenty of times, so we’ve got a chance.”
