A first wobble in Philadelphia
Philadelphia opened the season 8-1. Two losses in three games later, the Sixers face Toronto on Thursday night with the first real questions of their season hanging over them, and possibly without two of their biggest names.
Joel Embiid and LeBron James are both listed as questionable. Neither looked right in Tuesday’s 123-101 home defeat to Boston. James went 4 of 12 from the floor for 11 points. Embiid scored 16 but made only two of his nine shots, and his season numbers make for grim reading: 37 percent from the field, 12.1 percent from three.
Embiid admitted he was probably overthinking his game and called it a work in progress. Jaylen Brown, up against the club that traded him to Philadelphia over the summer, fought foul trouble and finished with 13. He called the night humbling and said the Sixers had been outplayed and out-executed.
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Maxey carries the load
Whoever suits up, Tyrese Maxey is the problem Toronto must solve. He leads the team at 26.7 points per game and averaged 31.4 against the Raptors across four meetings last season, a series the teams split 2-2.
The Celtics showed the template for hurting this Philadelphia defense. Boston buried 22 threes on Tuesday, six of them from former Sixer Paul George.
Toronto still chewing on Wednesday
The Raptors arrive on the second night of a back-to-back and in a sour mood. They led Boston by 22 on Wednesday and lost 98-93, coughing up 11 of their 14 turnovers after half-time. Coach Darko Rajakovic pointed to execution, details and fatigue.
Toronto played without Kawhi Leonard (knee) and Scottie Barnes (groin). Ja’Kobe Walter led the way with 17, and rookie Allen Graves, the club’s 2026 first-round pick, posted a career-high 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting from deep in 18 minutes. Alijah Martin and Jamison Battle added 12 apiece off the bench.
The starters were the issue. Immanuel Quickley, Collin Murray-Boyles and RJ Barrett combined to shoot 9 of 39. Toronto has lost five of its last seven and dropped below .500 for the first time this season at 5-6.
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