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The Philadelphia 76ers began their playoff run on a high note by dominating the Toronto Raptors in a 131-111 victory in Saturday's Game 1. With a strong start in the first quarter, Doc Rivers and his men were able to gain an upper hand for the remainder of the game and never looked back to secure the lopsided win.
After seeing what happened in Game 1, the Raptors will surely make their own adjustments in order to keep in step with their opponents and have a better outcome come Game 2. However, the Sixers have also shown what they can do on the floor and have sent a message that they will be hard to stop if they manage to sustain their momentum for the rest of this opening-round series against the Raptors.
With that said, let's take a look at three things that went right for Philadelphia in its explosive Game 1 outing against Toronto.
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3 reasons for Sixers' emphatic Game 1 win over Raptors
3. The Sixers did a great job taking care of the ball
This particular category was the most surprising out of all the numbers on Game 1's stat sheet, with the Sixers only committing three turnovers as compared to the Raptors' eight. Everyone knows how error-prone James Harden can be on the floor, which dates way back to his days with the Houston Rockets.
To start this series, the former MVP only tallied a single turnover despite playing a team-high 40 minutes of action on the floor against the Raptors. Not to mention that he also produced 22 points, 14 assists, and five rebounds in Game 1.
After seeing Harden struggle toward the tail end of the regular season, credit has to be given to him for taking good care of the ball and making a sizable contribution to lead his team to a resounding victory. Aside from him, only Tobias Harris and Isaiah Joe turned the ball over in this game.
The Sixers will definitely have to maintain this level of play in order to avoid any letups and cruise their way for the remainder of this series. This will be tough to do against an aggressive Raptors defense, but they did one heck of a job in Game 1.
2. Tobias Harris showed up and did more than expected
When talking about the 76ers, everyone will bring up the prolific duo of Joel Embiid and James Harden. Sometimes Tyrese Maxey gets included in the conversation too. However, many seemed to have forgotten about the existence of Tobias Harris on the team.
From being the third guy dating back to the Sixers squad with Ben Simmons, the 29-year-old has now been relegated as the fourth option due to Maxey's continued emergence. His numbers also show that his level of play has regressed in recent years after ending the 2021-22 season with 17.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 73 appearances.
However, Harris showed up and proved that he can still make a valuable impact for the team in Game 1 against the Raptors. He generated 26 points on 3-of-5 shooting from 3 to go with six rebounds and six assists in 37 minutes played.
Despite the evident drop in his numbers, everyone is still well aware of Harris' level of talent and what he can do on the floor. Without a doubt, his level of production in Game 1 eased the pressure off of Harden and Embiid's shoulders to carry the team.
The Sixers will be needing Harris' contributions in their coming games, and they will be even harder to stop if he puts up solid numbers for the remainder of their playoff campaign.
1. Tyrese Maxey showed out in a big way
Looking back at the midseason deadline, many teams were asking for Tyrese Maxey to be included in any potential trade with the Sixers. However, Daryl Morey was reluctant to let go of the 21-year-old, who has already shown a ton of potential in the early stages of his career.
In Game 1 against the Raptors, Maxey proved that he can come up with huge performances in the postseason as well. He notched 21 points in the third quarter alone en route to a total of 38 points. To add, Maxey also did it efficiently as he shot an applaudable 67% from the field. The Kentucky product also notched five 3-pointers, four rebounds, and two assists in 38 minutes of action.
Prior to the start of this series, many figured Maxey would get to contribute on the offensive end, but not many saw him coming out with a breakout game like this in the first tilt of the 2022 NBA Playoffs. With his big-time performance in Game 1, the sophomore guard has proven that he is also a significant threat and the Raptors will need to contain all of the Sixers' weapons if they want a chance to win this series and advance to the next round.
