Toronto Raptors: Three keys to shorthanded win against 76ers

The Toronto Raptors will be without Kawhi Leonard and Serge Ibaka against the Philadelphia 76ers. What do they need to pull out a victory? Here are our three keys.

The Toronto Raptors are going to be without Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka, Kyle Lowry, and possibly a few more key pieces. They also will be on the second half of a back-to-back, facing against one of the best teams in the NBA in the Philadelphia 76ers. This is the definition of a “schedule loss.”

But the Raptors are incredibly deep, and in the NBA, any team can win any given contest. So what does Toronto need to accomplish to pick up a victory? Here are our three keys.

1. Continue to lock up Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons hasn’t been terrible against Toronto so far this season. Terrible is not strong enough of an adjective. Horrific, atrocious, disastrous are all more applicable. In their two previous meetings this season, he accounted for a combined  19 points and 18 turnovers. Woof.

The largest reason for that terrible play is Kawhi Leonard. Leonard has completely engulfed Simmons, ripping him consistently throughout the game. Kawhi is the high school kid taunting his middle school brother as he destroys him in a game of one-on-one.

Unfortunately for Toronto, Kawhi will not be available for tonight’s contest. Instead, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam will have the task of matching up with Simmons, attempting to keep him outside of the paint at all costs.

2. Survive on the glass

Without Serge Ibaka and Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto will likely need to play small for the majority of the game. After seeing success against the Cleveland Cavaliers, I’d expect Nurse to continue to play Pascal Siakam at center, rather than throwing Chris Boucher to the wolves.

With Pascal at center and Kawhi Leonard not playing, Toronto will need to group rebound if they want to have any chance against Joel Embiid and company. It might slow down the fast break, but all bodies will need to focus at rushing the rim after each defensive possession.

3. Keep bench minutes even

The 76ers are not a very deep team. After the Jimmy Butler trade, they left themselves with more than a few holes in the rotation. Guys like Furkan Korkmaz, Amir Johnson, and Mike Muscala are all playing way too many minutes.

However, with so many injuries to the Toronto starting lineup, the Raptors bench will be even weaker. Lorenzo Brown, Malachi Richardson, and Chris Boucher are all eligible for legitimate minutes. Not great.

If the Raptors are able to keep the minutes even, or close to even, it will be a big victory.

The Raptors are off for the next few days and will play next against the Miami Heat on December 26th. You can check out all pregame and postgame info here at RaptorsRapture.com.