What to know about the match-up between the two Atlantic Division rivals
Set it in stone, the Eastern Conference fifth-seed Toronto Raptors are playing the fourth-seed Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2021-2022 NBA Playoffs. Philadelphia gets their chance to avenge The Shot, while Toronto gets their opportunity to further a season that is already considered by many to be a resounding success.
Expectations
Going into the season, Philadelphia was considered a heavyweight and one of the favourites to win the Eastern Conference. Preseason odds projected them as the third seed Eastern team, and also projected them to win approximately 50.5 games. Philadelphia would go on to finish the season as the fourth seed in a tightly contested race and outperform their projected win total, amassing 51 wins. Led by 7’1 MVP-candidate center Joel Embiid (30.6/11.7/4.2), who became the first center since Shaquille O’Neal in 1999-2000 to win the NBA scoring title, the 76ers are a difficult matchup. Given the major trade that 76ers GM Daryl Morey made in February for James Harden (22.0/7.7/10.3) and Paul Millsap (3.5/3.5/0.9), it is likely that their overall regular season numbers and tendencies are deceiving. The roster change is substantial, subtracting Ben Simmons (0/0/0), a former All-Star who played 0 games this year, Seth Curry (15.0/3.4/4.0), who was their most prolific three-point shooter, and Andre Drummond (6.1/8.8/2.0), who was their most efficient rebounder. Betting on former MVP James Harden to be the missing piece to complement Embiid is a rational move from the 76ers front office when you consider Toronto’s acquisition of Kawhi Leonard in 2018 that ultimately unlocked a championship run. That said, James Harden has not been playing up to the standard he established in Houston when he won MVP. It is possible that he has begun dismissing the importance of regular season play in favour of being fresh for the playoffs, a la Kawhi Leonard in Toronto, as Harden searches for his first career NBA championship. It is also possible that several years (2014-2020) of being a top player in the league by usage percentage and total minutes played has taken its toll, and that he is simply not capable of putting a team on his back offensively as he did while averaging 36.1 points per game and 7.5 assists on outstanding efficiency for the Houston Rockets in 2018-2019. The trade was undoubtedly the most talked-about trade of the 2021-2022 NBA…
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