Philly has its own hangover to deal with. Boston won 123-101 in Philadelphia and took 1st place in the East from them. Paul George hit 8 threes, and the Sixers only led once, by a single point in the 1st quarter. Tyrese Maxey was efficient at 8-for-12 from the field. Joel Embiid scored 16 with 6 rebounds and fell hard after a missed transition layup late in the 2nd quarter. He finished the game, but it's worth watching how he's listed by Thursday.
Embiid's jumper is the bigger long-term story. Before he made a three on the Sixers' first possession of the 3rd quarter against Boston, he was 3-for-32 from deep this season. Toronto won't have its usual size to send at him either. Bittle is out, Murray-Boyles and Jackson-Davis are sick, and Barnes isn't there to switch onto him. If Embiid is healthy, this is a game where he can live in the paint and not care where his jumper is.
Philadelphia isn't exactly deep up front either. Adem Bona (back) missed the Boston game. Nick Nurse said Dominick Barlow needed another 10-12 days as of early November. Ariel Hukporti is done for the year with a ruptured Achilles. Our recap of the Boston loss blamed the 4th-quarter collapse on that thin frontcourt. Toronto's best counter is pace and bodies off the bench, and Wednesday night is going to use up a lot of both.
Toronto has alternated wins and losses over its last 5, all against Western or Central teams that ran it out of the gym or got outworked. Wins over the Clippers and Bucks show this group can still score 120 when it's mostly healthy. Philly is 3-2 over that stretch. The 24-point loss in Cleveland and the 22-point loss to Boston were both blowouts against East contenders, which is a better read on the Sixers than their record. The Raptors aren't one of those teams right now, and Thursday will show whether the Sixers handle a beat-up opponent like a contender should.
