The Sixers just finished playing the Raptors for the third time this year. And for the third time this year, the Raptors carved up the Sixers defense.
The Sixers have been an above average team on defense this year (they started out the season very strong, but they haven't been quite as good recently), but not against the Raptors. In the three games against the Raptors, the Sixers have posted defensive efficiency ratings of 113.5, 112.7, and now 118.5 (I think that NBA.com indicates that league average is around 107). Ouch.
What exactly does Toronto do that well against us? Primarily, they shoot it well. Their turnover rate has varied from good to bad in the three games (11.8%, 17.2%, 14.1%) and so has their offensive rebound rate (20.5%, 32.5%, 20.0%). Shooting, however, has not been a problem. They've hit up the Sixers with true shooting percentages of 58.6, 58.2, and 64.1 in tonight's game. Remember-- last year the league average TS% was 54.2%.
Just think-- the Raptors are 15-17 against the rest of the league, but 3-0 against the Sixers. I bet they're much more excited to play the Sixers again in ten days then we are about playing them...
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2 comments:
Do we really need to play any team anymore? No wins in 2008 and a trip to San Antonio, Houston, and Boston makes this a very bad time of year to be a 76ers fan.
It looks like we are setting ourselves up to compete with the Knicks for the most balls in the lottery.
With a loss to the Knicks the Sixers can now self-identify as one of the worst teams in the NBA. The speculation about how they really could be a middle-of-the-road team because “the numbers” show it has been, to quote the former president, “a fairy tale.” It looks like the talking heads and other NBA analysts pegged the 76ers correctly. I am already getting ready to start rooting for a bunch of losses so we can move up in the draft.
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