Sports
Related: About this forumGo Raptors
Game 6 Preview: Raptors vs Sixers
Holly MacKenzie - Raptors.com
Posted: May 09, 2019
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
Toronto Raptors (3-2) @ Philadelphia 76ers (2-3)
When: Thursday, May 9th, 8 P.M. ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Leading into tonights game:
- Injury report: For the Raptors, OG Anunoby (appendectomy), Chris Boucher (back spasms) and Jordan Loyd (coachs decision) are out. For the Sixers, the injury report is to be determined.
- Opportunity awaits: Thanks to a dominant Game 5 win at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday, the Raptors are in Philadelphia with a 3-2 series lead and an opportunity to close out their best-of-seven series. This is the third time in three years that Toronto has had an opportunity to close out a series on the road. The Raptors won Game 6 in Milwaukee against the Bucks in 2017 and also closed out their first-round series against the Washington Wizards in 2018 in Game 6 on the road.
- Recent history: Toronto took control of their second-round series against Philadelphia with a 125-89 Game 5 victory at home. The win set a franchise record for largest margin of victory in a postseason game as six Raptors finished in double figures and the team finished the game 16-for-40 from beyond the three-point line. Kawhi Leonard has led the way in the first four games of the series, and he finished with a 21-point, 13-rebound double-double, also adding four assists and two steals. He received plenty of help from his teammates on both ends of the floor on Tuesday and the result was a Raptors victory that at one point saw the team lead by as many as 40 points. Jimmy Butler led the Sixers with 22 points and seven assists in the loss.
Extra Assists
- Spicy bounce back: One game after finishing with nine points on 2-for-10 shooting after being limited because of a sore right calf injury, Pascal Siakam put in a strong performance in Game 5. He led the team in scoring, putting up 25 points to go with eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 34 minutes. Siakam has been fantastic for Toronto in the postseason, averaging 21.7 points to serve as the teams second-leading scorer.
- Gritty performance: Game 5 was a roller coaster for Serge Ibaka. After taking an accidental elbow to the head from teammate Kawhi Leonard while under the basket, Ibaka had to leave the game to receive three stitches. He emerged from the locker room tunnel shortly afterward, a bandage on his head, and checked back into the game. Ibaka was huge for the Raptors in the teams Game 4 win on the road, and he was equally as impressive in Game 5. In 22 minutes off the bench, he scored 10 points and was a +27. Serge is playing with a tremendous amount of pride right now, Nick Nurse said after the game. Hes being big, hes being active, hes being a force out there.
https://www.nba.com/raptors/news/game-6-preview-raptors-vs-sixers
Mosby
(16,259 posts)I didn't really think it was going to be this close, the sixers on paper have a lot more firepower.
I know there was a lot of media hype for Philadelphia & Boston at the beginning of the season but I think Toronto was the best team in the East last year that went into a slump in the playoffs. I think Kawhi Leonard + Denny Green was an improvement from Derozan. Pascal Siakam's improvement made them much better.
They were the best team in the East early on sweeping the Warriors and the game they did have Steph Curry it was an even worse blowout.
Somewhere they replaced Valanciunas with Marc Gosal not sure if that is an addition or a subtraction. Gasol is probably better defensively. Fred Van Vleet has been a solid guard off the bench the past two seasons.
I watched a lot of Raptors games on NBA league pass. They come on early about 4 or 5pm AZ time.
True Dough
(17,246 posts)Won all three in Oakland too.
JonLP24
(29,322 posts)Kyle Olynick injured Kevin Love in his prime so he was out the whole series. Kyrie Irving was injured game 1.
Also last year Houston was up 3-2 over Golden State but Chris Paul got hurt.
Also the Raptors swept the Warriors and when they blew the Warriors out at home they were without Kawhi Leonard who missed 25 games for load management. The Raptors also eliminated the team with the best record in the league Milwaukee.