OGT Mar 2: Raptors (37-22) @ 76ers (13-46)

[Legends66NBA7]

Game Preview: http://www.nba.com/games/20150302/TO...fo.html?ls=slt

While their Atlantic Division title hopes remain healthy, the Toronto Raptors' season-high skid has put them in a fight for positioning in the Eastern Conference.

The Raptors will try to avoid their sixth straight loss Monday night by extending their dominance over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Toronto (37-22) has a 12-game lead in the Atlantic and a top-four seed in the playoffs. As recently as Feb. 20, the Raptors had a 3 1/2-game lead over Chicago on the No. 2 spot in the East but that edge is down to one-half game after their five consecutive defeats.

Toronto is also just one game ahead of fourth-place Cleveland and is on the verge of its first six-game skid since Dec. 3-12, 2012.

"We are going to solve this together," guard Greivis Vasquez said. "We are not going to point fingers. We are going to gather ourselves and talk to each other and figure it out. Nobody said this is going to be easy."

Toronto's first four losses came against teams that are in top nine spots in the West, capped by a 113-89 drubbing to league-leading Golden State on Friday. The Raptors' latest defeat, though, came against NBA-worst New York on Saturday.

The team's struggling top scorer Kyle Lowry was given the night off in that 103-98 defeat. Lowry had four points on 1-of-7 shooting in the loss to Golden State and is averaging 11.6 points on 29.7 percent shooting -- including 4 of 28 from 3-point range -- in five games since the All-Star break.

Lowry averaged 18.6 points in his first 53 games this season and had a game-high 21 in a 91-86 win in Philadelphia on Jan. 23. The Raptors have won a series-best seven in a row over the 76ers (13-46) and three straight road matchups.

Philadelphia managed to overcome its 35.0 percent shooting Friday and snapped a five-game skid with an 89-81 win over Washington. The 76ers couldn't pull of that feat again while shooting 34.5 percent in a 94-74 drubbing at Indiana on Sunday.

The Pacers held the 76ers to 10 points in the fourth quarter on 4-of-22 shooting, and Philadelphia lost one of its top scorers, Robert Covington, to injury in the third quarter.

Covington came off the court holding his right arm after landing awkwardly on a layup attempt.

"He took a big hit," coach Brett Brown said. "The X-rays were negative on his shooting elbow."

Covington is the team's current top scorer (13.2 ppg) with Tony Wroten out indefinitely following knee surgery and Michael Carter-Williams traded to Milwaukee. Nerlens Noel played Sunday despite dealing with leg pain incurred from Friday's win.

Covington overcame a 5-for-15 shooting performance to score a team-best 18 points in the loss to Toronto in January. Noel had a career-high 14 rebounds and 12 points while the Raptors' DeMar DeRozan was held to eight points on 4-of-14 shooting.

DeRozan, scoring 17.8 points per game, averaged 25.8 in his previous six matchups but enters this one in a shooting slump. The guard has connected at 33.7 percent in his last 12 games and missed 38 of 52 attempts in his past three contests.

[Legends66NBA7]

To GOBB in the last game thread:

Does this really deserve a thread? Raptors win by like 20. Nothing to see here.

I didn't get a chance to respond to this... I know the Sixers are tanking (and have since gone super tank), but I still feel it's good for other Rap fans to chime in to every game and post their thoughts. I make threads regardless of the opponent.

Besides, losing to the Knicks last Saturday, anything is possible with the way the team is slumping. But let's hope we win and Sixers lose so both teams can get back to their projected ways.

[BurningHammer]

At least Raps will be in the playoff, very likely.

[GOBB]

New month lets see how Noel fares. He's been on a surge.

To GOBB in the last game thread:



I didn't get a chance to respond to this... I know the Sixers are tanking (and have since gone super tank), but I still feel it's good for other Rap fans to chime in to every game and post their thoughts. I make threads regardless of the opponent.

Besides, losing to the Knicks last Saturday, anything is possible with the way the team is slumping. But let's hope we win and Sixers lose so both teams can get back to their projected ways.

I hope we lose. But I can see this being a close game that could go either way.

[Legends66NBA7]

At least Raps will be in the playoff, very likely.

It's gotten so bad, we are not even confident they will make it 100%.

Vibes of a 2 decade long losing franchise.

[Milbuck]

Should be a good game for the first 2 minutes or so until the Raps start winning by 20.

[Legends66NBA7]

If the the Sixers get the first overall pick and draft Okafor, do they trade Embiid ?

[Kungfro]

No Matt Devlin today?

[BurningHammer]

Old school with Rod Black!!

[Done_And_Done]

No Matt Devlin today?

He's under the weather.

[Done_And_Done]

Old school with Rod Black!!

Back to Global and Sky Dome days

[Fudge]

DeMar fvcking sucks this year.

[BurningHammer]

Eric Smith handling play-by-play last Saturday sounds weird, especially with the mis-dunk.

[BurningHammer]

DeMar fvcking sucks this year.

He was great before the injury.

[Legends66NBA7]

He was great before the injury.

Nah, he was struggling then too. He was bit a better, but has just struggled with his consistency.