Everyone knows the Pagans imagined dinosaurs to pull people away from the church and God (Corinthians 3:21). It’s a historical fact, and cannot be refuted. The Toronto Raptors, however, are real and the 76ers can prove it. Toronto suffocated Philadelphia’s offense in Game 1 of the second round series, holding the team to 39% from the field and forcing 16 turnovers en route to a 108-95 victory in which Kawhi Leonard dropped a playoff career high 45 points. Pascal Siakam, the favorite for Most Improved Player, was the only other player on the team in double figures - scoring 29 points on 12-15 shooting from the floor. No Sixers player reached twenty points, including The Process Joel Embiid who shot just 28% with 16 points and 8 rebounds.
If you watched the game, you saw just how much The North strangled the Philly offense and forced them to take more bad shots than a pledge at a frat party. It looked like… The Lakers without Lebron (is there a worse insult in sports?). The 76ers seem to live and die by Embiid’s productivity, and I don’t see them winning any more games with him playing the way he did Saturday night. As bad as he was, however, Butler and Harris need to step up. They combined for only 24 points on 10-29 shooting, abysmal considering both are capable and have averaged 20+ points a game for a season.
I don’t think I’m the only one thinking this, but Jimmy Butler is leaving after this season. Who would want to go from being one of the league’s premier two-way players to an offensive afterthought? I really felt he was a great addition to this team; he gets buckets on his own, is clutch in crunch-time, and plays both sides of the ball equally as hard like a double-sided dildo. His team needs him desperately to help slow down one of Toronto’s two freakishly athletic scorers if they want to advance to the conference finals, a feat that looks near impossible after their first game on the road.
Out of all the games in the playoffs so far, when you take into consideration the talent and expectations on both teams, the Raptors had the biggest statement win (I really think Milwaukee just blew Game 1 against the Celtics and will bounce back big time). Their stars look unstoppable, and their defense impenetrable. If they keep this up throughout this series and the playoffs, Canada might have some basketball to watch in June for the first time ever.
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