Two teams that could probably benefit from some extra rest meet when the Philadelphia 76ers face the visiting Toronto Raptors on Saturday.
Toronto is playing the second game of a back-to-back after rallying to beat the host Atlanta Hawks 109-97 on Friday, while the undermanned Sixers have three players ranked in the NBA’s top four in minutes played.
The Raptors, who have won four straight games overall, prevailed in all four meetings against the Sixers last season.
Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Kelly Oubre Jr. are each playing at least 37 minutes per game for Philadelphia, which has lost two straight.
With Joel Embiid on a minutes restriction and Dominick Barlow and Jared McCain each missing time due to injuries, Sixers coach Nick Nurse has been leaning heavily on his starters to begin the season.
Philadelphia also is playing without Paul George, who has yet to suit up this season while recovering from an offseason procedure on his left knee.
“The tricky part for us right now is, obviously, there’s probably four guys, maybe five, that are playing heavy minutes,” Nurse said. “But the tricky part is we’ve got a whole bunch of guys on minutes restrictions, guys coming back, and we’ve got to get those guys in condition and in shape. So it’s a little bit of a tale of two teams. That’s where we are.”
Embiid and McCain are both expected to play against Toronto, while George and Barlow will remain sidelined.
Philadelphia overcame its injury woes to win its first four games, but the Sixers are 1-3 since, including a 132-121 road loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
Edgecombe had a season-low seven points on 3-for-14 shooting against Cleveland. The Sixers, who trailed by 26 points early in the fourth quarter, got within nine in the final two minutes but couldn’t complete the comeback.
“We’re going to keep playing till this (stuff’s) over. We’re not going to give up,” 76ers center Andre Drummond said. “We’re going to play till that last buzzer goes off. That’s the type of team that we want to make sure that everybody knows that we are.”
Toronto is showing that same type of resilience early this season. The Raptors trailed by 13 in the second quarter on Friday and by eight in the fourth before outscoring Atlanta 36-20 in the final period.
“We talked at halftime that we did not play to our standard in the first half, and that we could do much better,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic. “We just wanted to focus on the second half. It was good to see the team respond and play much better in the second half.”
Brandon Ingram scored 20 points to lead the Raptors, while RJ Barrett added 19 and Immanuel Quickley had 18. Scottie Barnes (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Jakob Poeltl (12 points, 10 boards) chipped in with double-doubles.
Barnes has stepped up as the Raptors’ top defensive player while providing equal value on the offensive end. He is averaging 20.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists.
“I’m just stepping into it,” Barnes said. “I’ve been working on shooting, going to it confidently, especially sometimes when I’ve got nothing going and that’s what the defense has given me. I’m eager to shoot it.”
