1 reason Raptors can beat every Top 4 Seed in Eastern Conference
By Mike Luciano
The Toronto Raptors are inching closer to a postseason spot without having to prove themselves in the play-in tournament beforehand. A few more timely wins could help them finally secure a spot in the top six and get them ready for postseason preparations.
Being a lower seed, Toronto will have to run through a gauntlet of elite players and contenders if they want to make a deep postseason run. A pair of division rivals in Joel Embiid’s 76ers and the white-hot Celtics could be a daunting task for a team still giving Khem Birch regular minutes.
While that might seem daunting, Toronto has beaten all of the top four seeds in the East at least once while taking down all but Miami twice this season. That won’t guarantee postseason success, but it does show that these teams are vulnerable enough for Toronto to take them down.
The Raptors will go into any series against a top-four team as an underdog. However, they could topple one of these favorites if Nick Nurse can exploit all of their flaws and issues throughout a seven-game series. We’ve seen crazier things happen in the postseason.
76ers: Philly’s lack of depth
Philadelphia might have the two best players in a hypothetical Raptors-76ers series in MVP candidate Joel Embiid and James Harden. However, is it unrealistic to say that the Raptors have No. 3-7 locked down? That might be what topples Philly in a seven-game series.
While Tobias Harris can be effective when he gets hot, he has struggled mightily against the Raptors this season. In the critical non-Embiid minutes, Doc Rivers might be forced to lean on a combination of DeAndre Jordan, Paul Millsap, and Georges Niang to fill up frontcourt spots. That’s less than ideal, to say the least.
The Toronto Raptors could take advantage of the 76ers’ issues.
Embiid is going to get his 20 points and 10 rebounds every game, but he has been very open about how the Raptors will guard him effectively. On top of the fact that Toronto’s length could cause problems for Harden’s penetration, a lack of bench support might come back to bite Doc Rivers.
The 76ers might as well start every game with 45 points on the board thanks to Embiid and Harden’s individual brilliance. However, the Raptors have a formula that has proven to give Philadelphia some serious headaches over the last few meetings, and it could help them end Embiid’s playoff dreams once again.