The Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers each dispatched their first-round foes in five games, setting up for a matchup of the no. 2 and no. 3 seeds in the Eastern Conference semifinal.
These two teams met four times during the regular season, with the Raptors winning three of those contests. And in the lone matchup that was won by the Sixers, Toronto star Kawhi Leonard was inactive.
In spite of Philly's lack of success against the Raptors this year, Sixers head coach Brett Brown believes that the playoffs are a chance to wipe the slate clean and start over.
As Brown told Michael Lee of The Athletic:
“We all understand what the math says with our success in Toronto, and it’s not flattering. But it’s also not directed to the team that we have,” Brown said. “And so you can credit it or you can discredit it. I’m discrediting it. I think that we have a new group. We have a new opportunity.”
Indeed, the Sixers are quite a different team from the last time they played the Raptors on Feb. 5. Since that time, Philadelphia acquired star wing Tobias Harris, who seems to be fully acclimated alongside Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler and Ben Simmons.
Philadelphia lost Game 1 against the Brooklyn Nets before dismantling them over the next four games, winning by an average of over 15 points per game.
The Raptors defeated the Orlando Magic in a more dominant fashion, losing Game 1 at home but winning the next four matchups by nearly 22 points on average.
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