Danny Green Recalls Sixers vs. Raptors Playoff Series to Credit his new Team

Danny Green knows how tough a Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons-led Sixers team can be because he experienced the other side of it firsthand.

This week, the Philadelphia 76ers finally acquired veteran guard Danny Green through a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Just last season, Green was starting for the 2019-2020 NBA Champions. Now, he'll take his championship expertise to the Sixers, who could use his talents and experience for their 2020-2021 run.

Although Green never played for the Sixers before, the veteran guard is quite familiar with them as he recently played on an Eastern Conference contender before finding himself on the Lakers last year.

Two seasons ago, Danny Green was traded to the Toronto Raptors along with Kawhi Leonard. At the time, the Raptors were expected to appear in the 2018-2019 NBA Playoffs, but nobody expected an eventual championship run.

It seemed like the Raptors almost breezed their way through the 2019 NBA Playoffs all the way to becoming Finals Champions -- but the postseason journey wasn't nearly as easy as it seemed. And the Sixers can at least take credit for that, according to Green.

Earlier this week, the veteran guard recalled the series against the Sixers. While the Raptors ultimately knocked Philly out of the second-round by way of a devastating Game 7 buzzer-beater, Green makes it very clear the Sixers were not pushovers that year -- and a lot of that has to do with the team's main core, which is still intact. 

“A lot of their main pieces are still here,” Green mentioned this week. “They were one of the toughest teams. I always hated playing in Philly. One of the toughest teams at home to play against, especially with Joel [Embiid], Ben [Simmons] defensively how good they were, how much they pushed the pace, obviously Tobias [Harris], and how great of a scorer he was.”

This year, the 76ers won't have the almighty home-court advantage they've had in the past due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the organization is hopeful that a new coaching staff and seasoned veterans surrounding the team's young core will help the Sixers get over their struggles when there aren't tens of thousands of screaming fans in attendance cheering for them specifically. 

Green knows just how much the presence of Philly fans affects the visiting players. Still, the veteran champion also remembered the Sixers to be relentless, especially on the defensive side of the ball. "[They're] a very good, tough, scrappy group that hung their hat on the defensive end of the floor and pushed [the] pace offensively," Green said. "You had to be very smart and strategic in how you attack them. It was hard to get off easy looks against them. There weren’t many easy looks, so you had to make tough shots against them.”

Last season left a bad taste in the Sixers' mouth after they got swept in the first round of the playoffs. However, injuries, chemistry concerns, and stale coaching might've played a significant role in the disappointing ending. Last year surely wasn't a good look for Philly, but Danny Green seems to be confident in the Sixers' ability to turn things around this year and get back on the right path.

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