Do the Sixers follow up?

The Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors face each other for the second time in the NBA Playoffs. The Sixers won the first meeting by a clear 20-point margin. This made the men around their top centre Joel Embiid the clear favourites.

Philadelphia 76ers – Statistics & Current Form

The 76ers delivered a top offensive performance in the first match-up with 131 points. The forward play worked right from the start.

Already in the first quarter, Head Coach Doc Rivers’ troops had 35 points on their account and in three of the four quarters they scored more than 30 points each. Especially Tyrese Maxey was unstoppable.

The point guard of the three-time champions scored 38 points, the best scoring output of all players on the court at the Wells Fargo Center. By comparison, his season-long total is less than half of that tally (17.5).

Toronto Raptors – Statistics & current form

The “Raps” were clearly shown their own playing limits at the start of the series. Although the final spurt in the regular season was very successful, the Sixers now proved to be too thick a board. However, the performance of rookie Scottie Barnes was positive.

The small forward is contesting a postseason for the first time and was hardly impressed by the resulting enormous pressure.

However, he will now be missing from Head Coach Nick Nurse’s squad for Game 2, as Barnes had to leave the court early in the fourth quarter after Joel Embiid stepped on his foot.

Philadelphia 76ers – Toronto Raptors Tip

The first game showed that the Sixers are in good shape. The encounter ended with a big lead in their favour. The fast-break game worked especially well – the home side scored around three times as many points in transition.

For the renewed showdown between the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors in Game 2, the betting is on a double-double by Pascal Siakam on the visitors’ side.

Due to the foreseeable absence of centre Scottie Barnes, “Spicy P” will not only be in demand as a shooter but also as a rebounder in the upcoming game. Barnes grabbed ten rebounds in the first game, but will now most likely have to miss the game.

A task that suits Siakam well, however: He already scored double figures on the boards and in points in the last three games before the start of the playoffs.