Shaq’s awful Raptors-76ers prediction will come back to haunt him

The Toronto Raptors have been defying doubters all season long. On top of the fact that they entered the playoff picture in a year where many expected them to once again end up in the lottery, they’ve earned the No. 5 seed and a date against the rival Philadelphia 76ers.

On paper, the Raptors look like underdogs. With Joel Embiid putting on an MVP campaign and James Harden liable to go off for a 30-point double-double at any given moment, Philly’s star power is impressive. However, Toronto has reasons for optimism heading into this series.

Even with an All-Star point guard in Fred VanVleet and an All-NBA-level performer in Pascal Siakam at their disposal, some national pundits are not as high on Toronto’s potential. Shaquille O’Neal set himself up for ridicule when he predicted that Philadelphia would win the series without breaking a sweat.

Shaq boldly claimed that the Raptors are getting swept, and he did it without a shred of irony in his voice. We know that Shaq is a huge fan of Embiid and his game but to just toss Toronto aside when they’ve played Philly as well as anyone has this year is very shortsighted.

Shaquille O’Neal foolishly thinks the Toronto Raptors will get swept.

Shaq must not be aware of the fact that Toronto is 3-1 against the 76ers this year. In their lone loss, three of Toronto’s eight available players were COVID-19 replacements on 10-day contracts. He also must not have realized how well Toronto has defended both of Philly’s stars.

In three games against Toronto this year, Harden has averaged just 19.3 points per game and turned the ball over 11 times. Embiid, who has been very open about the fact Nick Nurse has devised creative schemes to limit him in the past, shot just 38% from the floor in the last two games.

The 76ers are going into this series without all of their key contributors available for the duration of the matchup. Matisse Thybulle, who has established himself as an elite perimeter defender, is not going to be eligible for games in Canada due to the vaccine mandate required to cross the border.

The 76ers might have more recognizable names, but trying to act like there is some cavernous gulf in talent between the two teams is doing a major disservice to the Raptors. As tempting as it might be to lean on Embiid, Toronto has the ingredients needed to pull the upset off and make Shaq eat his words.