![]() His efficiency was down and his conditioning needed an uptick.īut Embiid has cranked things up in December, looking every inch an MVP contender with six straight games of over 30 points, highlighted by a 53-point masterpiece against the Charlotte Hornets. The Joel Embiid revenge tour - after losing out to Nikola Jokic for MVP last year - failed to get off the ground at the start of this season. Learn more in our free NBA picks and predictions for tonight’s showdown. After a sloppy start, they’re now nipping at the heels of the Eastern Conference leaders. Joel Embiid and the 76ers are heading in the opposite direction after extending their winning run to four by beating those same Warriors on Friday night. Make no mistake, the pressure is mounting in Toronto. The Raptors have lost five in a row and were always second-best last night against a Steph Curry-less Golden State Warriors team, losing 126-110 despite 27 points from Pascal Siakam. You know your flopping is egregious when a team's official social media account even calls you out.If the wheels haven’t come all the way off yet for the slumping Toronto Raptors, they’re certainly wobbling ahead of tonight’s matchup with the in-form Philadelphia 76ers. When it comes to flopping, Raptors guard Kyle Lowry is among the league's elite. With Ben Simmons sidelined, they'll need Embiid to be dominant if they hope to advance in the playoffs. Embiid is expected to be good to go when postseason play gets underway next week, which is good news for Philadelphia. The good news for the Sixers is that his X-Rays were negative, and thus the fact that he didn't return to the game was largely precautionary. During the second quarter of the contest Embiid left the game after getting smacked on the right hand by Marc Gasol and he didn't return. Joel Embiid missed the better part of the previous two games due to an ankle injury, and his return to the court didn't last long. Here are three quick takeaways from the contest. When the playoffs begin, the Raptors will be facing off against the Brooklyn Nets in the first round, and the Sixers will go up against the Boston Celtics. The Sixers will face off against the Houston Rockets on Friday night, and the Raptors will play against the Nuggets on Friday. The good news for the Sixers is that Embiid was back in action against the Raptors, as he played 14 minutes in the first half.īoth teams will play one more seeding game before postseason play gets underway. All-Star center Joel Embiid also missed the better part of two games with an ankle injury. The team lost All-Star forward Ben Simmons with a knee injury and he is likely to miss the remainder of the season. The Sixers, on the other hand, have struggled, thanks largely to injury issues. The Raptors have played very solid ball in the bubble so far, and they're now 6-1 in Orlando. Tobias Harris led all scorers with 22 points, while Kyle Lowry and Chris Boucher paced Toronto with 19 points apiece. Reserves played for the majority of the second half for both sides, and ultimately the Raptors pulled out a 125-121 win. Given the fact that neither team had much to play for standings-wise, both coaches used the contest as an opportunity to test their depth. The Raptors had already locked up the second seed in the conference heading into their matchup with Philadelphia, while the Sixers were also already locked into the sixth spot. The game was the seventh of eight seeding games for both teams, with the playoffs set to begin next week. Two teams in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff picture went head-to-head as the Philadelphia 76ers took on the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday evening.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |