The Sixers and Raptors are 2 teams headed in the opposite direction right now. Grant, not like they will ever meet in the middle this season, the Raps are a million times better than the Sixers. But after a blistering 22-6 start to the season, mostly without All-Star SF DeMar DeRozan, the Raptors have come down to Earth a bit going 5-9 over their last 14 games, putting them 3rd in the Eastern Conference.
The Sixers on the other hand could simply look at Raptors games this year as a measure of their own progress. The two teams first met in Toronto in the midst of the Sixers 17-game losing streak to start the year, and the Sixers were destroyed 120-88 in a game that wasn't even that close. Fast forward two months to when the Sixers returned to Toronto and dropped a 100-84 decision that actually was a lot closer than the final score indicated. Sure, the Sixers couldn't get over the hump, but they played the Raps hard and most ever story line the next morning (my own included) was basically "Sixers lose again, but HEY SIXERS!"
And thats really the story of this season, yes? Development. The Sixers have turned this whole year into one player development experiment, and at least with a few players, it appears to be working. TrueHoop did a nice piece today on the Sixers player development process, and it's worth checking out (David Thorpe is one of the smartest bball peeps out there IMO). And sure, there were 2 months between those first two meetings for the Sixers to improve, whereas this time there's only been 9 days. But development for the Sixers really does happen on a macro and micro level. In that last matchup, Bobby Buckets didn't play, Larry Drew II wasn't on the team yet (but Wroten WAS injured), and Jerami Grant hadn't figured out how to channel Daddy Harvey and Uncle Ho yet.
So, lets hope that tonight we see a few more baby steps towards respectability for the Sixers. A couple nice blocks from KJ, a few dimes from LD2, maybe even a >45% shooting night from MCW. Watching the Sixers is like golf at this point: one good shot is all you need to keep you coming back.
Game Notes:
- Local Philly boy and starting Raptors PG Kyle Lowry was voted a starter in the upcoming NBA All-Star game. Sixer or not, I can get behind any Philly kid so congrats to him.
- Sweet Lou Williams is plying his 6th man trade north of the border these days, and doing a damn good job of it. The Inquirer's John Mitchell caught up with he of this awesome shot ther other day, where Lou joined a chorus of ex-Sixers saying thatthe Jrue/Iggy/Lou/Brand squad was broken up too soon.
- The Sixers are gunning for win #9 tonight, which would tie the win total from the infamous 72-73 team that holds the record for worst 82-game season. Remember back in that 17-game losing streak when it was all but certain that this squad would break that record? Yeah, neither do I.
Projected Lineups:
Sixers
PG Michael Carter-Williams
SG KJ McDaniels
SF Robert Covington
PF Henry Sims
C Nerlens Noel
Raptors
PG Kyle Lowry
SG Greivis Vasquez
SF DeMar DeRozan
PF Amir Johnson
C Jonas Valanciunas
Injuries: Sixers: Jason Richardson (Out, old man), Joel Embiid (Out, fat), Tony Wroten (Out, right knee seriousness), Luc Mbah a Moute (Questionable, knee), Henry Sims (Questionable, ankle).
Raptors: None.
Prediction: Coming down the stretch into the All-Star game, you can catch some sleepy basketball as teams let their minds wander towards the extended All-Star break (which for the first time is a week long.) Guess also Kyle Lowry went out in his hometown last night to celebrate his All-Star nod, so I'm thinking we catch a less than optimal Raptors club. They'll probably still beat us, but I'm gonna predict a close one, with the Sixers falling 96-94.
