The Sixers played two games since I last wrote about them. Uniquely, both games were against the same team in the Toronto Raptors. I like these mini two game series that sometimes happens throughout a season. I believe it would be pretty cool if they upped the frequency of these back to backs against the same team.
The first game took place on Sunday, a game that Paul George and Joel Embiid did NOT play in. Since it was a back to back I wasn't too surprised. The Sixers lost in OVERTIME but the game was SUPER entertaining and I thought Tyrese Maxey ended it on multiple occasions as he hit several clutch shots. Maxey ended the night with 38 points. While it was a tough loss I was proud of how competitive the guys were without Embiid and George.
The next night on Monday, George and Embiid played. In a perfect world, adding these two stars should equate to a victory if the night before they only lost by a point in OT to the very same Raptors team...
I guess it was a perfect world in a sense because the Sixers DID indeed win, and they won with ease. They led by as many as 33 and just controlled the game. Maxey and Embiid combined for 60 points, Edgecombe and George combined for 30. 90 points out of those four players. Pretty awesome. The final 115-102 score does not really tell the story of the game. Not a single Raptor scored more than 18 points.
Kyle Lowry received a ton of love as he returned to face his old team. Lowry is a Raptors icon for sure. He won a championship with them and quite a lot of people have stated he's the greatest Raptor of all time. This is Lowry's 20th season and in all likelihood Monday was his final time on the Raptors' court as a player. Lowry is also from Philadelphia and so if you think about it yesterday must have been a nutty full circle moment for him. Pretty awesome. Happy for him!
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But yeah, I'm really liking how this Big Three is developing lately. Like A LOT. They have simply been flowing well together! I hope they can keep it up!
Tonight the Sixers face the Cleveland Cavaliers who sorta remind me of the Detroit Lions of the NFL. Always pretty dangerous. I respect Donovan Mitchell's game a lot, hopefully the Sixers have a plan on how to guard him. Maybe V.J. Edgecombe can come up big there.
The Sixers are #5 in the East, and the Cavs are #7. Should be a nice night!