3 biggest takeaways after Game 1 of Raptors-76ers series
By Mike Luciano
The Toronto Raptors saw a good chunk of their postseason optimism dashed after just one game thanks to the Philadelphia 76ers putting up 131 points against Nick Nurse’s vaunted defense. Not only did key players like Gary Trent Jr. underperform, but the Raptors came away with a few battle scars.
Toronto saw standout rookie Scottie Barnes leave the game in the fourth quarter with a very concerning injury, which made an already difficult evening even tougher to swallow. Still, it didn’t totally overshadow the fact that Toronto got their butts thoroughly kicked in this series.
The Raptors still have plenty of chances to overcome this early deficit and win the series with or without Barnes, but it is going to take a serious reversal in fortune for that to happen. Philadelphia seems to have put all of their regular season demons to rest.
The Raptors need to take away these three lessons from their Game 1 decimation at the hands of the 76ers. If Nick Nurse can adapt, Toronto could stand a chance. If they don’t, they might be able to get a head start on their offseason vacation plans.
3 takeaways from Game 1 of Toronto Raptors-Philadelphia 76ers series
3. Precious Achiuwa is about to be tested due to injuries.
Achiuwa started very poorly in his playoff debut, but ended up with a robust nine points, four rebounds, and three assists in 29 minutes of work. Achiuwa was solid in this contest, but Toronto needs him to quickly take that next step if they have to go into Games 2 and beyond without some of their best players.
In addition to Barnes potentially being out for some pivotal games in this series, Thad Young could be in danger of missing time due to a thumb sprain on his shooting hand. Achiuwa already had a ton on his plate from a defensive point of view, and it looks like Nurse is going to ask even more of him on offense if these two are limited.
Precious Achiuwa needs to step up for the Toronto Raptors.
While Achiuwa has become a surprisingly effective 3-point shooter in the second half, the hesitancy and second-guessing that plagues so many second-year players making their playoff debut was all over his performance. Achiuwa will need to mature on the job in this series.
While this might sound like too tall of an order to thrust on Achiuwa in his second season, Masai Ujiri acquired him with the expectation that his athleticism could be a unique piece that causes elite teams consternation in the playoffs. We’ll see just how much Precious has developed in this series.