Player Observations After Sixers Take Down Toronto Raptors

The Philadelphia 76ers have had quite the roller coaster of a season this year. When they started off their 2021-2022 campaign, Philly was the hottest team in

The Philadelphia 76ers have had quite the roller coaster of a season this year. When they started off their 2021-2022 campaign, Philly was the hottest team in the Eastern Conference. Then, they hit a rough patch as they became one of the first teams to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak.

At this point in the year, the Sixers are slowly but surely getting healthier. Meanwhile, their opponents are dealing with outbreaks themselves. However, that hasn't been something the Sixers could take advantage of as they've struggled against shorthanded rosters lately.

That was the case once again on Tuesday night in Toronto. Earlier this year, when the Sixers faced the Toronto Raptors, they struggled to pull off a win at home as they collapsed in crunch time after gaining some momentum. That resulted in a loss for the Sixers, who were shorthanded at the time.

On Tuesday, the Sixers were by far the healthier team at the Scotiabank Arena, but the Raptors once again proved that Philadelphia has weak spots that can be exposed no matter who's on the court for the other team.

Lately, the Sixers have struggled to get off to quick starts, but they did a decent job on Tuesday night as they outscored the Raptors 27-24 in the first quarter of action. After maintaining their lead in the second quarter, the Sixers entered halftime up 55-48.

At that point, it seemed the Sixers might be able to run away with the game considering they had more depth than Toronto and their bench was thriving. But Toronto did not make matters easy for Philadelphia.

In the third quarter, the Raptors shot over 50-percent from beyond the arc. They outscored the Sixers 33-30 before heading into the final quarter of the night. While Toronto had another strong performance in the fourth quarter, the Sixers were slightly better. The lead might've changed four times throughout the final quarter of the night after the Sixers coughed up a 12-point lead, but Philly escaped Toronto with their 18th win of the year by putting the Raptors away 114-109.

Sixers vs. Raptors Player Observations

How did the Sixers individually perform against the Raptors on Tuesday. 

Matisse Thybulle

Coming off of a stellar defensive performance but a quiet night on the offensive end, Thybulle got more involved in Toronto. Spending roughly 36 minutes on the court, Thybulle put up seven shot attempts and drained one of his three three-point attempts. 

In the end, Thybulle wrapped up the game with seven points and had four total rebounds and a blocked shot. He's still a work in progress on offense, but seeing Thybulle consistently trying to get involved on that end is always a good sign for the Sixers. 

Tobias Harris

It was an odd night for Harris. From the field, he struggled as he made just three of his 12 shots and missed his one three-point attempt. Yet, Harris still finished the game with 19 points as he went 13-14 from the free-throw line.

In addition to his scoring, Harris picked up his first triple-double of his career as he came down with 12 rebounds and distributed ten assists. It wasn't a pretty triple-double -- but it was a triple-double nonetheless. 

Joel Embiid

Once again, Joel Embiid was clearly the best player on the floor on Tuesday night. Coming off of a dominant performance against the Washington Wizards, Embiid kept the ball rolling up North in Toronto.

In 34 minutes, the big man put up 16 shots. He hasn't been all that efficient from the field this year, but on Tuesday, Embiid knocked down all but five of his field-goal attempts. In addition, he got to the free-throw line seven times and drained 12 of his 14 attempts. He wrapped up the night up with a game-high of 36 points.

Seth Curry

When Seth Curry's cooking, the Sixers can be unstoppable. Oftentimes, though, he struggles to shoot at a high volume. Tuesday night was one of those nights where he drained 50-percent of his threes but only attempted a long-range shot four times. His 12 points and five assists surely helped the Sixers out but Curry's expected to produce more as he's Philly's most reliable shooter.

Tyrese Maxey

Tuesday was one of those nights Tyrese Maxey would probably like to forget. In 36 minutes, he scored just five points. Although he attempted 11 shots, Maxey shot poorly as he drained just two of his shots. 

In addition to his lack of scoring, Maxey also only produced one assist. He's been a key producer for the Sixers throughout the year, but Tuesday night's performance was one of his worst of the year.

Georges Niang

The Sixers must be happy to have the mini-van back in action as he dominated off the bench on Tuesday night. Typically, Niang doesn't get a ton of playing time and that still wasn't the case in Toronto as he checked in for 22 minutes.

However, during that time, Niang dominated as he knocked down seven of his ten shots from the field. From three, Niang drained all but three of his eight three-point shots. He wrapped up the night with 19 points off the bench.

Furkan Korkmaz

The Turkish veteran is coming off of a rough slump but his latest performances have shown some light at the end of the dark tunnel. Against the Raptors, Korkmaz shot 4-9 from the field and 2-4 from three. He contributed to ten points off the bench.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.