Sixers Could Be Facing a Pascal Siakam-Less Raptors on Sunday
For once, the Philadelphia 76ers are on the other side of important injury news. Throughout the entire playoff run, Philly has had a difficult time having everybody healthy and ready to go consistently. During the first round against the Brooklyn Nets, the Sixers were dealing with Joel Embiid's knee tendinitis, which not only limited his minutes but also forced him to miss a game as well.
Then, for the second round, the Sixers lost their reserve forward Mike Scott to the first couple of games as well. During Game 3, the Sixers had both, Scott and Greg Monroe listed on the injury report, but both of them ended up playing. For Game 4, the Sixers are expected to have everybody healthy and playing - but for the Toronto Raptors, their situation is actually different. Their starting forward, Pascal Siakam is listed as 'doubtful' for the upcoming matchup, which is set to take place Sunday afternoon.
The big story in the Sixers-Raptors series so far has been Toronto's inability as a whole to help out their star, Kawhi Leonard. After his explosive Game 1, the Raptors haven't been able to produce or provide help for Leonard as he takes matters into his own hands. However, despite the criticism towards the guys around Leonard, Raptors' forward Pascal Siakam has served the team fairly well.
Over the last three matchups, Siakam has averaged just over 36 minutes-per-game. During that time, he has put up 23 points-per-game, acting as the sidekick to Leonard's dominance. With Siakam potentially missing a critical Game 4 on the road, the Raptors could find themselves in the most challenging situation yet.
As the Sixers completely dominated Toronto at home on Thursday night, they are looking to continue to ride that wave of confidence as they try to take a 3-1 lead. With Siakam potentially out of the picture, Toronto will need some of their guys to step up.
Unfortunatley for the second-seeded Raptors, neither Leonard's supporting starting cast, or the bench have displayed too much promise against Philly as of late. If Siakam is officially a 'no-go' for the Raptors on Sunday afternoon, we could be looking at another lopsided victory for the home team.
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