3 observations after the Sixers fell to 0-2 with the defeat in Toronto originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
A trip to Toronto and a matchup against a Raptors team that went 25-57 last year didn’t get the Sixers in the win column.
They lost their first road game of the season and fell to 0-2 on Friday night, falling to a 115-107 loss to the Raptors.
Toronto’s Scottie Barnes recorded 27 points and shot 8 of 11 from the floor. Jakob Poeltl added 19 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
Kelly Oubre Jr. scored a game-high 28 points for the Sixers. Tyrese Maxey posted 24 but had a second straight poor shooting game, going 6-of-23 from the field and 2-of-12 from beyond the arc.
The Sixers feature Joel Embiid (management of left knee injuries) and Paul Georges (bruise to left knee bone) stayed outside. Five Raptors have been sidelined due to injuries, including RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.
The Sixers will face the Pacers on Sunday afternoon in Indiana. Here are some observations from their loss to Toronto:
Change starters
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse made two changes to his opening night starting five. He inserted Raptors legends Kyle Lowry and Caleb Martin, moving Eric Gordon and KJ Martin to the second unit. Maxey, Oubre and Andre Drummond remained starters.
A playoff starter last year, Lowry is clearly comfortable playing alongside Maxey. At 38 years old, he’s still able to handle the ball, catch and shoot three-pointers, set effective screens, and do just about anything Nurse imagines.
Caleb Martin, after playing 37 minutes off the bench in his Sixers debut, got 34 on Friday night. Caleb Martin and KJ Martin spent time defending Raptors forward Barnes.
The Sixers’ defense was less than exemplary early, but Maxey matched much of Toronto’s scoring with a 13-point, five-assist first quarter. Maxey made more free throws in the first quarter than in the entire game Wednesday against the Bucks, shooting (and hitting) five foul shots.
Big problems everywhere you look
The Sixers did not follow plan A in the center of Toronto.
Drummond gave up an and-one layup to Poeltl with 8:51 left in the first quarter. He committed his second foul on the play, leading to the entry of Guerschon Yabusele.
Offensively, Yabusele was productive right away. He threw down a dunk on a pick-and-roll with Maxey and his ball screens helped free the 23-year-old guard for three straight pull-ups. The second came on a well-executed double drag play.
As in the first game, it quickly became apparent that Yabusele was not used to protecting the rim as a center. Second-year Raptors winger Gradey Dick went straight at him in the first quarter, drawing the Frenchman’s second foul and scoring a hoop and one.
In two games, Drummond and Yabusele totaled 20 fouls. Caleb Martin and Lowry also had issues Friday.
Nurse used KJ Martin at center for a few minutes before turning to Adem Bona. The rookie fouled Barnes after about 25 seconds on the floor.
Twelve Sixers reached the field at 9:38 of the second quarter, including Reggie Jackson and Jared McCain. The nurse tried a little bit of everything during a mistake-filled second period and found no correct answers. The Sixers’ half-court offense was a slog, relying heavily on Maxey and offensive rebounds.
Nothing to do for Maxey
Life didn’t suddenly become smooth sailing for the Sixers at the start of the third quarter.
Caleb Martin couldn’t handle Maxey’s pass in the corner and the ball sank out of bounds. Drummond was whistled for a moving screen. The Raptors kept Maxey tight as a team and held him without a field goal in the third quarter.
The Sixers still managed to hold on, in part because Toronto committed turnovers throughout the game. Drummond had four steals in his 22 minutes. Oubre stepped up to take the lead and picked up Davion Mitchell’s fourth foul early in the third period. The left wing also provided several timely offensive plays in the third, connecting with Drummond on an alley-oop and scoring a few self-created buckets.
Although the Sixers cut their deficit to two points late in the third quarter, Toronto surged early in the fourth.
Undrafted rookie Jamison Battle knocked down a pair of threes and converted an and-one push shot that gave the Raptors a 98-79 advantage. Toronto was the livelier team for the majority of the game and the Sixers failed to generate any serious runs. The Raptors showed their youth at times in the final minutes, battling full-court pressure and the Sixers’ zone defenses, but a last-minute comeback wasn’t an option.
Most of Maxey’s jumps continued to fail and he even landed one. In two games, he is 16 for 54 (29.2 percent) from the field.
