The Toronto Raptors have nothing to lose in their first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers, who carry the weight of expectations due to the presence of two future Hall-of-Famers and three max players in their starting lineup, not to mention homecourt advantage in the first-round series.
But the Raptors don’t see themselves as warm-up acts for the Sixers power couple of Joel Embiid and James Harden. They look at the Sixers as a team with vulnerabilities they can exploit and themselves as having strengths Philadelphia might have difficulty matching.
But the Raptors’ best chance is if they can control the nature of the competition and force the Sixers into uncomfortable places thanks to the very specific ways the Raptors believe they have to play to win games — especially against teams with higher-end top-line talent.
Well, better luck in Game 2.
Because the Philadelphia 76ers put on a seminar on how to turn the Raptors’ weirdo, positionless, ways on their head and served themselves up an all-too-easy 131-111 win.
And luck? From the Raptors point of view that will have to start with hoping that star rookie Scottie Barnes — the team’s bright spot in his playoff debut — is not as badly injured as it appeared when he was helped off the court by his teammates after writhing in pain as Sixers star Joel Embiid — all 300 pounds or so — stepped on his left foot and ended his night early in the fourth quarter.
The Raptors can only hope Embiid’s big foot didn’t end the rookie’s season, because the way the Sixers played in Game 1, it might not have too many games left.
It’s only one game of a seven-game series, but the Raptors were beaten by a better team playing superior basketball.
“I just think they were really great,” said Raptors head coach Nick Nurse. “They were fast and physical, making shots and zinging the ball and not turning it over and crashing the glass. They were really great, so I give them a lot of credit.”
Just one example? The Sixers counted 29 assists on 43 made field goals against — astoundingly — just three turnovers for the game. It doesn’t get much better than that, but there was more: The Sixers shot 51.2 per cent from the floor, 16-of-32 from deep and 29-of-34 from the free throw line.
“We certainly helped them. A lot. In those areas,” said Raptors guard Fred VanVleet. “But they played a heck of a game… We’ll lace them up on Monday and give them another shot.”
On the bright side? It will be hard for the Sixers to play that flawlessly three more times. The Raptors have to hope they can interrupt Philadelphia’s trajectory and get them to play in the kind of chaos Toronto wants to create.
The Raptors’ path to success generally relies on controlling the offensive glass; forcing teams into turnovers and mistakes and making opposing stars’ lives a vision of basketball hell thanks to double and triple teams when necessary and an accompanying flurry of long, reaching hands and arms every time their opponents touch the ball.
It’s an approach that has worked over and over again during the regular season when teams don’t have the luxury or the energy to adjust their game plan for a couple of meetings a season.
But the playoffs give teams the luxury to prepare, and full credit to the Sixers, they were extremely well-prepared.
The Raptors didn’t play particularly poorly — early in the fourth quarter they were shooting better than 50 per cent from the floor, were 12-of-26 from three and had made just seven turnovers: all outstanding levels for them. Four of their five starters were in double figures.
But the Sixers were playing almost perfectly as they shrink-wrapped the paint to keep the Raptors off the offensive glass, while forcing their way into enough of their own to make Toronto pay for all the running around they do to help defensively. They were antiseptic with the ball all game and while Sixers stars Embiid (19 points and 15 rebounds) and Harden (22 points and 14 assists) made themselves known, the attention they drew created ample chances for Philadelphia’s secondary players to shine and they bathed themselves in the light.
No one more than second-year guard Tyrese Maxey who finished with a career playoff-high of 38, while Tobias Harris had 26 points on 14 shots.
“We just [have] to guard him a little bit better,” said VanVleet of Maxey, who shot 14-of-21 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three. “I think he found the cracks in the defence and our game plan. Obviously we loaded up a ton on Joel and loaded up a ton on James, and he was able to find success in the cracks and the creases. [We] just have to guard him better and give him a little bit more attention. He’s a heck of a player. He had an amazing, almost damn-near perfect game tonight… but it’s one game.”
The Raptors were led by Pascal Siakam who had 24 points and seven assists while VanVleet and OG Anunoby had 18 and 20, respectively. Barnes looked comfortable in his first playoff start, chipping in 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists before going down with his injury after 32 minutes.
He was sent for X-rays after — as was Thad Young, who left after halftime with a sprained thumb. In both cases the images came back negative for fractures, but each will get MRIs done on Sunday.
Barnes’ injury signalled the end of the game, realistically, but before that you kept waiting for the Raptors to force a mistake and turn a trickle into a torrent as is their habit. But the Sixers were so tidy, Toronto could never get rolling.
The Raptors didn’t let go of the rope easily. The effort was there. Their best stretch came during a 17-4 run early in the third quarter that helped cut what had been 24-point Sixers lead to 11, but with the Sixers making so few mistakes, the Raptors didn’t have the materials to blow the game open. They could score off of the Sixers misses, but there weren’t enough extra chances to turn the run into a game-turning avalanche.
Harden steadied Philadelphia with a triple, then drove the lane for lay-up and then hit a streaking Maxey for a fastbreak and order was restored.
The Raptors had one more chance to make a dent when Sixers head coach Doc Rivers opted to rest both Embiid and Harden in the final minutes of the third quarter. For this series to have a long life the Raptors are going to have to dominate those types of opportunities, but it didn’t happen in Game 1.
Maxey’s presentation as a legitimate third star didn’t miss a beat as he launched himself on a 10-run in the final two minutes of the third to send the Sixers into the fourth leading by 21.
The Raptors’ success during the regular season hinged mainly on their commitment to earn more field goal attempts than their opponents, something they do by being aggressive on the offensive glass, in the passing lanes and on double teams to generate additional shots and possessions.
They are the kinds of things that a well-coached team would aim to clean up during a playoff series, so it was going to be interesting to see which would win out early: the Raptors’ determination to generate extra shots or the Sixers’ care in limiting offensive rebounds or turnovers.
Nurse called it a test of wills, and the Sixers won it early.
The 76ers jumped out to an early 11-2 run that was fueled by a trio of elements Rivers will take all series long: a three from Harden, a strip on the Raptors and a fast break by Maxey, and an offensive rebound and bucket by Embiid.
The Sixers had more elements working for them than that: all the bodies being sent at Embiid and Harden inevitably is going to leave open looks elsewhere and no one benefitted more than Maxey and Harris.
The tone was set. Meanwhile the Raptors got nothing from any secondary sources. Gary Trent Jr. was 2-for-11 and the Raptors got just 16 points from their bench before garbage time.
The Sixers set the tone physically as well, with Embiid bulling his way on the offensive glass and sending the likes of Khem Birch and Barnes to the floor in hard collisions. The Raptors didn’t exactly back down but lacking a single body to match up with Embiid, they’re going to have to do it as a group.
The Raptors would argue that the officials played just as big a role. Two touch fouls on VanVleet in the first two minutes forced one of the NBA’s peskiest help defenders to play with caution, while Chris Boucher’s reckless energy on the offensive glass was curtailed by three quick fouls.
And in general, there was the matter of Embiid, who was the bowling ball that sent the Raptors flying more often than not.
“We’ve got to believe that if we’re legal defensively that they’re going to call those, right?” said Nurse. “Like we had a couple of times where we beat him to the spot and he bulled us right over and they just let him lay it in.
“I don’t care if you’re five-foot-11 and 160 pounds, if you beat him to the spot and he runs over, it’s a foul. I thought he threw three or four elbows to the face, he got called for one. OK. I mean, we’re gonna stand in there. We just need, if we’re legal defensively, then we’ve got to have ‘em called or we don’t have a chance, period. Nobody can guard that guy if they’re just gonna let him run you over time and time again.”
It’s just one game, and adjustments will be made, but heading into Game 2 on Monday, the Raptors have a fairly long list to accomplish if they’re going to play the way they need to have a chance in the series.
NAPA, Calif. (AP) — David Lipsky shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Silverado Country Club to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Procore Championship.
Winless in 104 events since joining the PGA Tour in 2022, Lipsky went out with the early groups and had eight birdies with one bogey to kick off the FedEx Cup Fall series at the picturesque course in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
After missing the cut in his three previous tournaments, Lipsky flew from Las Vegas to Arizona to reunite with his college coach at Northwestern to get his focus back. He also spent time playing with some of the Northwestern players, which helped him relax.
“Just being around those guys and seeing how carefree they are, not knowing what’s coming for them yet, it’s sort of nice to see that,” Lipsky said. “I was almost energized by their youthfulness.”
Patton Kizzire and Mark Hubbard were a stroke back. Kizzire started on the back nine and made a late run with three consecutive birdies to move into a tie for first. A bogey on No. 8 dropped him back.
“There was a lot of good stuff out there today,” Kizzire said. “I stayed patient and just went through my routines and played well, one shot at a time. I’ve really bee working hard on my mental game and I think that allowed me to rinse and repeat and reset and keep playing.”
Mark Hubbard was at 67. He had nine birdies but fell off the pace with a bogey and triple bogey on back-to-back holes.
Kevin Dougherty also was in the group at 67. He had two eagles and ended his afternoon by holing out from 41 yards on the 383-yard, par-4 18th.
Defending champion Sahith Theegala had to scramble for much of his round of 69.
Wyndham Clark, who won the U.S. Open in 2023 and the AT&T at Pebble Beach in February, had a 70.
Max Homa shot 71. The two-time tournament champion and a captain’s pick for the President’s Cup in two weeks had two birdies and overcame a bogey on the par-4 first.
Stewart Cink, the 2020 winner, also opened with a 71. He won The Ally Challenge last month for his first PGA Tour Champions title.
Three players from the Presidents Cup International team had mix results. Min Woo Lee shot 68, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., 73. International team captain Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., also had a 69.
Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 70 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 71.
Lipsky was a little shaky off the tee for much of the afternoon but made up for it with steady iron play that left him in great shape on the greens. He had one-putts on 11 holes and was in position for a bigger day but left five putts short.
Lipsky’s only real problem came on the par-4 ninth when his approach sailed into a bunker just shy of the green. He bounced back nicely with five birdies on his back nine. After missing a 19-foot putt for birdie on No. 17, Lipsky ended his day with a 12-foot par putt.
That was a big change from last year when Lipsky tied for 30th at Silverado when he drove the ball well but had uneven success on the greens.
“Sometimes you have to realize golf can be fun, and I think I sort of forgot that along the way as I’m grinding it out,” Lipsky said. “You’ve got to put things in perspective, take a step back. Sort of did that and it seems like it’s working out.”
Laird stayed close after beginning his day with a bogey on the par-4 10th. The Scot got out of the sand nicely but pushed his par putt past the hole.
Homa continued to have issues off the tee and missed birdie putts on his final four holes.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Canada’s Marina Stakusic is moving on to the quarterfinals of the Guadalajara Open.
The Mississauga, Ont., native defeated the tournament top seed, Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (0) in the round of 16 on Thursday.
Stakusic faced a 0-4 deficit in the third and final set before marching back into the match.
The 19-year-old won five of the next six games to even it up before exchanging games to force a tiebreaker, where Stakusic took complete control to win the match.
Stakusic had five aces with 17 double faults in the three-hour, four-minute match.
However, she converted eight of her 18 break-point opportunities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
PARIS (AP) — French judicial authorities are investigating the disappearance of two Paralympic athletes from Congo who recently competed in the Paris Games, the prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Bobigny confirmed on Thursday.
Prosecutors opened the investigation on Sept. 7, after members of the athletes’ delegation warned authorities of their disappearance two days before.
Le Parisien newspaper reported that shot putter Mireille Nganga and Emmanuel Grace Mouambako, a visually impaired sprinter who was accompanied by a guide, went missing on Sept. 5, along with a third person.
The athletes’ suitcases were also gone but their passports remained with the Congolese delegation, according to an official with knowledge of the investigation, who asked to remain anonymous as they were not allowed to speak publicly about the case.
The Paralympic Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo did not respond to requests for information from The Associated Press.
Nganga — who recorded no mark in the seated javelin and shot put competitions — and Mouambako were Congo’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games, organizers said.
