The second-seeded Toronto Raptors and third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers both won their first-round series in five games on Tuesday, defeating the Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets, respectively. The two franchises have not met in the playoff since Allen Iverson’s Sixers defeated Vince Carter’s Raptors over seven games in 2001. How they got here Toronto: After losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a third straight time in the playoffs last spring, the Raptors rejoiced with LeBron James’ departure to the Western Conference, and then upgraded from DeMar DeRozan to Kawhi Leonard in preparation for another swing at the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance. Leonard came as advertised, playing at an All-NBA level when the organization wasn’t managing the load on a leg that kept him out for much of last season. The trade for Leonard also brought veteran Danny Green, who helped form one of the league’s deepest and most versatile wing rotations, with contributions from Most Improved Player favorite Pascal Siakam and second-year small forward OG Anunoby, whose emergency appendectomy cost him the team’s first-round series. The midseason addition of former Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol bolstered a frontcourt that already featured Serge Ibaka, allowing new head coach Nick Nurse to field lineups big and small, both full of shooters at every position. Likewise, All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry and backup Fred VanVleet ensure that Nurse can employ a tough — and tough-minded — general on the floor at all times. Joel Embiid and Kawhi Leonard both have a chance to be the best players in the 76ers-Raptors series. (Getty Images) The result was another near 60-win campaign, the East’s second seed and a first-round date with the Magic. Toronto’s Game 1 loss was an ugly reminder of the franchise’s playoff foibles, and another Lowry disappearance did not help, but the Raptors recovered to stomp out Orlando on the strength of Leonard and Siakam — a pair of long and athletic swingmen seemingly made for the modern NBA. Philadelphia: Despite a five-game loss to the undermanned Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals a season ago, the Sixers returned as one of the most promising young teams in the NBA, armed with budding superstars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, both of whom submitted All-Star campaigns this year. Story continues Simmons stagnated a bit, continuing to average in the neighborhood of a triple-double (17-9-8) while failing to progress as a shooter, but Embiid established himself as a bona fide MVP and Defensive Player of the Year candidate. He is as close to a dominant throwback center as there is in the pace-and-space era. In the quest for a third star to pair with their young guns, the Sixers swung big for two — Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris, both of whom can create offense and defend multiple positions. Those midseason acquisitions came at the potential expense of team chemistry and definitive expense of Philadelphia’s depth. The Sixers jettisoned willing role players Robert Covington, Dario Saric and Landry Shamet, among others, for two players who need touches to be fully realized. Still, there are few lineups more talented than Embiid, Simmons, Butler, Harris and J.J. Redick, still one of the NBA’s deadliest shooters 13 seasons into his career. We’ll have more on them later, but talent alone carried them to another 51 wins and a second straight conference semifinals appearance, even if it did not come easy. Philadelphia’s Game 1 loss to Brooklyn raised familiar questions about the fit of their stars, whether or not Simmons can truly impact a competitive playoff series and Embiid’s longevity. The 7-footer is battling tendinitis in the same left knee that cut his rookie season short. It cost him Game 3 of the series, and his conditioning is clearly not what it needs to be against superior teams, even if he played through pain to post monster double-doubles in Games 4 and 5 against the Nets. The Raptors acquired Marc Gasol for a matchup like this one against Joel Embiid. (Getty Images) Head to head None of the four regular-season meetings between the Raptors and 76ers was decided by single digits, and Leonard rested in the lone lopsided victory that went Philadelphia’s way. Likewise, the two Atlantic Division rivals played all four of their games before trade deadline deals sent Harris to Philly and Gasol to Toronto. In other words, we should use caution applying any head-to-head lessons we learned from the regular season to this series. Markelle Fultz started their first meeting on Oct. 30, which goes to show how much can change in an NBA season. The averages of Embiid (26.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, three assists and two blocks) and Simmons (16.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists on 62.8 percent shooting) against the Raptors were what you would expect, and Philadelphia got 42.7 combined points per game from Butler and Redick in three games apiece against Toronto. That the Sixers still dropped three of four to the Raptors is of concern. Toronto got contributions up and down the roster, which makes making sense of their head-to-head meetings all the more difficult, while also speaking to their depth advantage. Know this: Leonard was exceptional against Philly, averaging 30.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, four steals and 2.7 assists in 34.6 minutes per game. Jonas Valanciunas and Ibaka also played big roles, so it will be interesting to see how Gasol performs opposite Embiid after being acquired for the Lithuanian in February. Likely starting lineups Nurse settled on a starting lineup of Lowry, Green, Leonard, Siakam and Gasol in early March, and the Raptors have stuck with that quintet throughout the playoffs. They played 161 post-deadline minutes over 14 games together during the regular season, outscoring opponents by a healthy 12.2 points per 100 possessions, and they were even better in another 87 minutes with VanVleet subbing in for Lowry. Those six players also played all of Toronto’s clutch minutes against Orlando. In a limited regular-season sample size, Toronto’s starting lineup played at an all-time level offensively, while the defense was merely the equivalent of a top-10 outfit this season.<doc-sep>With both the Raptors and Sixers taking care of business in the first round in five games, the two teams are set to face in the postseason for the first time in 18 years. The Sixers and Raptors will meet in the postseason for the first time in 18 years With both the Raptors and Sixers taking care of business in the first round in five games, the Eastern Conference Semifinals are now set. NBA.com is your destination for complete coverage of every series from now through the end of the NBA Finals. Series Schedule The series schedule has not been announced yet but Toronto has homecourt advantage and the series will begin at Scotiabank Arena. Game 1 - Saturday, April 27 at Toronto, Time: TBD TV: SN Game 2 - Monday, April 29 at Toronto, Time: TBD TV: TSN Network Game 3 - Thursday, May 2 at Philadelphia, 8:00 p.m. TV: SN Game 4 - Sunday, May 5 at Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m. TV: TSN Game 5 (if necessary) - Tuesday, May 7 at Toronto, TBD TV: SN Game 6 (if necessary) - Thursday, May 9 at Philadelphia, TBD TV: TSN Game 7 (if necessary) - Sunday, May 12 at Toronto, TBD TV: SN Recapping the season series Result: Raptors won 3-1 Best game: Dec. 5, 2018 - Raptors 113, 76ers 102 Best performance: Kawhi Leonard (Dec. 5, 2018) - 36 points (13-24 FG, 5-6 3P), 9 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 block Of the four times the Raptors and Sixers met in the regular season, the closest meeting was decided by 11 points in early Dec. The season series opened just two weeks into the regular season when Toronto defeated Philadelphia 129-112 behind 31 points from Kawhi Leonard. Kyle Lowry (20 points, 12 assists) and Pascal Siakam (15 points, 15 rebounds) each put forth impressive double-doubles while the Sixers were led by 31 points and 11 rebounds from Joel Embiid. While Ben Simmons flirted with a triple-double (11 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds), he committed 11 turnovers on the night. The next meeting between the teams would come over a month later, and the Sixers had added Jimmy Butler to an already-talented roster. Butler made his presence felt, scoring a game-high 38 points to go along with 10 rebounds but Kawhi Leonard was too much, as he finished with 36 points, nine rebounds, five steals and a block to lead Toronto to an 11-point win. The Raptors dominated on the inside in the second meeting as Serge Ibaka finished with 18 points and eight rebounds and Jonas Valanciunas scored 26 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a reserve role; Joel Embiid scored just 10 points (on 5-for-17 shooting) and grabbed 12 rebounds. The Sixers lone win came in the third meeting of the year when the Raptors were without Kawhi Leonard. Joel Embiid (27 points), Ben Simmons (26 points) and J.J. Redick (22 points) combined to score 75 points as Philadelphia earned a convincing 126-101 win at Wells Fargo Center. The Raptors were led by 26 points from Pascal Siakam and 20 points (on 6-for-16 shooting) from a hobbled Kyle Lowry. In the fourth and final meeting between the two teams this season, Kawhi Leonard scored a team-high 24 points despite shooting 3-for-11 from the field as the Raptors earned a 12-point win in Philadelphia. While he had a rough shooting night, Toronto's All-Star forward converted on 16 of his 17 free throw attempts in the game to make his presence felt on the offensive end. Both Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka added 20 points apiece while Pascal Siakam finished with 16 points in the win. In a losing effort, Joel Embiid scored a game-high 37 points to go along with 13 rebounds and three blocks while Ben Simmons finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists and six turnovers. Key storyline: The Marc Gasol Effect https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/NBA_Global_CMS_image_storage/eb/f8/joel-embiid-marc-gasol-042319-ftr-nba-getty_9bftodh47q9m1xmnvrynf7w5u.jpg?t=1294628506&w=500 Both the Raptors and Sixers made a number of big moves during the regular season to bolster their respective rosters to better prepare for the postseason. Perhaps one of the biggest - quite literally - was Toronto's trade deadline move to acquire centre Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies. Gasol's passing ability has paid dividends for the Raptors, as evidenced by their increased efficiency on the offensive end. On the defensive end, Gasol has done an excellent job on interior scorers, most recently playing a large role in limiting Magic All-Star centre Nikola Vucevic to 11.2 points (on 36.2 FG%) in the first round. It gets no easier this series, as Gasol will now be tasked with slowing down the Sixers All-NBA centre Joel Embiid, who averaged 24.8 points and 13.5 rebounds in their first-round series win over the Nets despite the fact he wasn't 100%. While Gasol was not yet a member of the Raptors roster for any of their four meetings with the Sixers this season, he has an impressive track record against Embiid in his career. The two have met five times and Gasol has had a hand in holding Embiid to averages of 14.0 points (on 34.4 FG%), 12.4 rebounds to go along with 4.4 turnovers per game. The Gasol-led Grizzlies were 3-2 against Embiid and the Sixers. In four games against the Raptors this season, Embiid averaged 26.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. His performance on the offensive end - and Gasol's ability to slow him down - could very well be what swings this series. Three Players to Watch Kawhi Leonard vs. Philadelphia in 2018-19 (three games): 30.3 points (48.1 FG%, 50.0 3P%, 90.9 FT%), 7.7 rebounds, 4.0 steals, 2.7 assists Leonard made his presence felt in the three games in which he took the floor against Philadelphia this season. Starting with a 31-point performance early on in the year, Kawhi was the Raptors leading scorer each time they defeated the Sixers.<doc-sep>Last night, just before the Sixers blasted the Brooklyn Nets into the offseason, the Toronto Raptors did the same to the Orlando Magic, meaning the Sixers and the Raptors will be facing off in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Raptors have had quite a spectacular season, racking up 58 wins during the regular season. That win total comes in second to only one (the Milwaukee Bucks). What makes their regular season even more impressive is that their best player, Kawhi Leonard, suited up for just 60 games. A major factor in the Raptors’ success this year has been Pascal Siakam, who is as deserving of the Most Improved Player award as anybody in the league. Just take a look at his year-to-year growth in production from ‘17-’18 to ‘18-’19: Toronto doesn’t just have top-end talent either — they are DEEP with experienced veterans. The addition of Marc Gasol at the deadline has given the Raptors a starting lineup of Kawhi, Pascal, Gasol, Kyle Lowry and Danny Green. Their bench is as trusty as any reserve group in the league, with options like Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka and Norman Powell. In other words, the Raptors pretty much have no bad options as far as personnel goes. They’ve got a ton of guys who excel on both ends of the floor, making them a tough game plan. There will be two key matchups that I’m interested to watch develop, though these players may not be matched up exclusively (I imagine Pascal will get opportunities to guard Ben Simmons and Danny Green could switch all around the perimeter): JJ Redick vs. Danny Green vs. Tobias Harris vs. Pascal Siakam Danny Green is having a hell of a season, bringing it on both ends of the floor. He gave Joe Harris a run for his money for the title of most proficient three-point shooter in the 2018-2019 season, with Green connecting on 45.5% of his threes. And Green has been as bothersome as ever on defense. I’ve already talked about how valuable Siakam has been to Toronto — the Sixers will need that sort of impact out of Tobias Harris if they are to keep up with the Raptors. The most important question of this series for Philly, aside from the health of Joel Embiid, is in regards to Ben Simmons. Which Ben Simmons are they going to get? Will we see an aggressive Ben Simmons who is locked in defensively and able to counter sagging defenses with purposeful off-ball action? Or will our worst fears about playoff Ben resurface? Ben will likely often be guarded by Kawhi Leonard — a frightening proposition for even the most engaged Simmons. The Raptors took the season series over the Sixers, winning three out of four games. But the Sixers are a very different team than they were in many of those exhibitions. On the surface, Toronto appears to be the deeper and more talented team and they’ll have the home court advantage. But if the Sixers are at their very best, they can run with the Raptors. Can Philly bring their A game consistently or will the lack of chemistry rear its ugly head? Depending on how this matchup plays out, it could be a franchise altering series for Philadelphia.<doc-sep>The 2019 NBA Playoffs didn’t begin quite how the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers had hoped. After Game 1 losses for both teams, though, the No. 2 and 3 seeds in the Eastern Conference got on the right track and proceeded to reel off four consecutive wins each. In turn, they advanced to the second round of the playoffs, setting up an intriguing matchup between the 50-plus win teams. For the Raptors, they opened the postseason with an opening-round date against the Orlando Magic. That loss featured a clutch game-winning 3-pointer from D.J. Augustin to leave Kawhi Leonard and company in an early hole. They managed to rally back and win two of the next three games by double-digits before closing out the series at home in Game 5. It was a similar situation for the Sixers after they lost 111-102 in the series opener against the Brooklyn Nets. Philly dominated Game 2 by a score of 145-123 and proceeded to steal both games in Brooklyn as well to head back home and close out the series in Game 5 (barring a massive late blown lead). It appears both teams have turned the corner at the right time, and it now sets up the much-anticipated Eastern Conference semifinals matchup. Philadelphia 76ers vs. Toronto Raptors 2019 NBA Playoff Preview Toronto holds the edge over the Sixers from the regular season, winning three of four meetings. The one loss they suffered against Philly came in a game where Leonard sat out, but the outlook for both teams is somewhat different at this point. Specifically, Brett Brown’s starting lineup of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris and JJ Redick haven’t played a large number of games together, but appear to be hitting their stride. This new-look Sixers roster hasn’t faced the Raptors since the trade to acquire Harris either so Toronto will face a team they haven’t seen this season. Embiid’s health will be a key talking point, but if his knee injury, which has been pegged as tendonitis, is able to hold up, the Sixers are a team capable of pulling off the upset. With the whole group together and healthy, Philadelphia boasts arguably the strongest starting lineup in the Eastern Conference. Follow the Heavy NBA Facebook page for all the latest stories, rumors and viral content! On the other side, the Raptors posted a 58-24 record during the regular season, and this was with players sitting out at various points for load management purposes. They’re well-rounded and have plenty of firepower on both ends with Leonard, Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, among others. The Raptors holding homecourt advantage is big as well, considering they went 32-9 on their own floor this season. Pairing that with the Sixers’ 20-21 road record makes this an even more interesting matchup. 76ers vs. Raptors Second Round NBA Playoff Schedule & Prediction Note: Tentative times and dates are listed below with all information courtesy of Sports Media Watch. We know how the TNT and ABC/ESPN coverage looks, although the specific game schedule will be finalized in the coming days. It’s worth noting that the first round will be wrapped up by April 28 with the second round slated to get underway on April 29. Although round two will begin on April 29 at the latest, there’s a chance dates and times can be changed depending on when the opening round wraps up. As Sports Media Group points out, conference semifinals matchups could potentially be moved up to April 27-28. UPDATE: Keith Pompey of the Philly Inquirer revealed the schedule for the series, with the Sixers vs. Raptors being moved up to start on Saturday, April 27. The other times below remain tentative with the rest of the schedule not posted yet. Saturday, April 27 Philadelphia 76ers vs. Toronto Raptors 7:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Sunday, April 28 Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks 1 p.m. ET (ABC) Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC) Monday, April 29 Philadelphia 76ers vs. Toronto Raptors 8 p.m. ET (TNT) Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets/San Antonio Spurs 10:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Tuesday, April 30 Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks 8 p.m. ET (TNT) Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors 10:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Wednesday, May 1 Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets/San Antonio Spurs 9 p.m. ET (TNT) Thursday, May 2 Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers 8:00 p.m. ET (ESPN) Friday, May 3 Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics Time TBD (ESPN) Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets/San Antonio Spurs Time TBD (ESPN) Saturday, May 4 Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC) Sunday, May 5 Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC) Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets/San Antonio Spurs 7 p.m. ET (TNT) Monday, May 6 Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics Time 7 p.m. ET (TNT) Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rocket 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT) Tuesday, May 7 *Philadelphia 76ers vs. Toronto Raptors Time TBD (TNT) *Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets/San Antonio Spurs TBD (TNT) Wednesday, May 8 *Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks Time TBD (TNT) *Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors TBD (TNT) Thursday, May 9 *Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers TBD (ESPN) *Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets/San Antonio Spurs TBD (ESPN) Friday, May 10 *Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics Time TBD (ESPN) *Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets TBD (ESPN) Sunday, May 12 *Houston Rockets vs. Golden State Warriors TBD (ABC or TNT) *Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets/San Antonio Spurs TBD (ABC or TNT) *Philadelphia 76ers vs. Toronto Raptors Time TBD (TNT) Monday, May 13 *Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks Time TBD (TNT) *If necessary Official times and dates for the 76ers vs. Raptors series will be updated after the schedule is finalized in the coming days. The big question becomes whether the Sixers can keep their hot recent play going in order to pull off an upset. It may truly come down to Embiid’s health, as the Raptors could have a tough time containing him while also trying to keep Simmons, Butler, Harris and Redick in check.<doc-sep>
76ers vs. Raptors: The backstory These teams share a common thread, having invested heavily in the success of this season and setting up a potentially turbulent summer if they fall flat. Only one is getting to the conference finals, which means the other is looking at some tough decisions. The Raptors traded for Kawhi Leonard last offseason, a risky play for a Southern California guy who has said he wants to return to the warm weather and is heading into free agency. But the Raptors have gotten what they wanted out of Leonard, and after a regular season in which his minutes were carefully managed, he is being unleashed in the playoffs and looking like the Leonard who established himself as arguably the best two-way player in the league. The Sixers put together a stocked starting five over the course of the year, adding Jimmy Butler in November and Tobias Harris in February. Both players can be free agents this summer, and the Sixers gave up Robert Covington, Dario Saric, rookie Landry Shamet, a first-rounder in 2020, Miami’s first-rounder in 2021 and two second-rounders (among others) to acquire those players. There’s also some recent history of playoff disappointment in this series, though a much longer legacy for the Raptors than the Sixers. Philly had a clear shot to make the conference finals last season facing a shorthanded Boston squad, but the Sixers were picked apart by the Celtics and head into this year’s second round looking to make amends. For the Raptors, the disappointment runs deep. Last year’s team set a franchise record for wins (59-23) after overhauling its offense in an attempt to make itself more playoff-ready. Yet when faced with a big test in the second round, the Raps got themselves swept by the Cavaliers. That just piled onto a history of postseason bummers. The team was swept by the Cavs in the second round in 2017, lost the conference finals in 2016, was swept in the first round in 2015 and lost in the first round as a No. 3 seed in 2014. There’s a lot at stake here, then, for both teams’ past and future. LIVE: Today's NBA scores, updates, TV schedule 76ers vs. Raptors: The key player There are so many reasons that this series will revolve around Sixers center Joel Embiid, beginning with his health. Embiid has not been 100 percent, as he has struggled through a knee injury in recent weeks. He missed the entirety of Game 3 of the first-round series against the Nets. But there were times he looked dominant, such as Game 4: 31 points, 12-for-22 shooting, 16 rebounds, seven assists and six blocks. It was a masterpiece. The rest will help Embiid, but we still can’t be sure whether he is 100 percent from night to night, and that could be an issue because the Raptors have two guys who have matched up pretty well against Embiid this season. Serge Ibaka is not the player he once was, and is not nearly as strong as Embiid, but he still has the savvy to get Embiid out of his comfort zones. During the season, Ibaka faced Embiid on 35.7 possessions per game in three games and held him to 42.4 percent shooting. New Raptors center Marc Gasol, too, was brought into Toronto in part for his ability to handle Embiid. Gasol does have the strength to match up with Embiid, and in two games (54.0 possessions per game), Gasol held Embiid to just 33.3 percent shooting. Pace will also be a factor. The Sixers tend to slow things down when Embiid is on the floor, but that plays into the Raptors’ hands — Toronto wants to get into the half court more than the Sixers do. Embiid has shown he can be an elite talent, but the Raptors have also shown they have a the personnel to slow him down. (Getty Images) https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/sporting_news/4d/ae/butler-embiid-getty-032219-ftrjpg_wjipc1qbflhc1ezkyjkalf1zn.jpg?t=-1497932855&w=500&quality=80 76ers vs. Raptors: The big number 28.6. Kawhi Leonard is Mr. Consistency for the Raptors, but the wild card of the bunch has been Pascal Siakam, whose regular-season numbers (16.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists) made him a favorite for Most Improved Player. Siakam has not been that wild of a card in the playoffs so far. He’s been stellar. His lowest output came in Game 4, when he had 16 points but did so on a very respectable 7-for-14 shooting.