It doesn’t matter that the Toronto Raptors are now the closest to fully healthy they’ve been in months, nor that they finished the regular season on an 8-2 stretch. They still enter the playoffs against the rival Philadelphia 76ers as an underdog given Philly’s star power.
Joel Embiid is undeniably the best player in this upcoming first-round series. Even a hobbled James Harden is still James Harden. Those two dynamos combined with the emergence of Tyrese Maxey and an increasingly reliable supporting cast means that the Raptors will have their work cut out for them from the jump.
A Raptors team that plays best with a shot of adrenaline in their thighs, having to prove their equality next to the more established stars on Philly’s roster, might be just the recipe Nick Nurse and Masai Ujiri need to out-duel the Sixers. These slights could be just the thing the Raptors need to have that extra pep in their step.
None of it will matter if Toronto’s key players don’t step up. The Raptors are a team that relies on the collective for success. In this matchup with Philadelphia, there are three Raptors players in particular who will need to be playing at peak form to pull off the upset.
3 Toronto Raptors who need to step up against the 76ers.
1. Pascal Siakam
Siakam has been the team’s most reliable offensive weapon, going toe-to-toe with All-NBA caliber talent and winning. Early in the season, the Raptors would go through droughts that often spelled defeat for the team. With Siakam playing the way he is, he’s been able to carry the scoring load during those spells and keep the Raptors in games.
This is something he’ll need to continue if Toronto has any hopes of outplaying the Sixers. Outplaying Embiid might be too tall of an order, but if Siakam can be the second-best player on the floor every night and put up average on part with his second-half surge, that would be a fantastic kick in the butt for this Raptors team.
Pascal Siakam needs to be a leader for the Toronto Raptors.
This series will have major implications for Siakam’s place within the larger NBA landscape. Knocking on the door of established All-Star status and a potential All-NBA nod, Siakam’s very public meltdown in the 2020 bubble playoffs was a black mark on his otherwise feel-good NBA career.
While Siakam has spent the past few months forcing himself back into the hearts and minds of Toronto’s devoted fans, only post-season success will ever fully exorcise the demons of that bubble experience, both in their eyes, the eyes of the wider NBA, and perhaps Siakam himself.
The Raptors are a team that plays very egalitarian basketball, but it’s Siakam who’s been the head of this spear. If he can maintain his level of play as the best player on the Raptors squad, then that at least is the first step to making the second round.