Embiid Calls Himself Out for Bad Defensive Showing vs. Raptors

The Philadelphia 76ers went into Monday night's Game 5 matchup against the Toronto Raptors, hoping to close out their first-round series so they could get ready

The Philadelphia 76ers went into Monday night's Game 5 matchup against the Toronto Raptors, hoping to close out their first-round series so they could get ready for the next round. However, the Raptors aren't going to make it easy for Philly.

After avoiding a sweep last weekend by stealing Game 4, the Raptors entered South Philly with a chip on their shoulder on Monday night.

Meanwhile, the Sixers lacked the juice and energy to avoid a second-straight loss.

In Doc Rivers' eyes, the Raptors got everything they wanted on the offensive end. And it's hard to argue with that sentiment considering Toronto drained over 50-percent of their shots from the field in four quarters.

"They got everything they wanted," said Rivers. "Not only did they get it, they used 23 seconds dang near every possession, they turned the game into a slow-paced slugfest, but whenever they could run, they did run, so they got both. They beat us in transition, when they didn’t have transition they backed it out, used the clock, got the iso they wanted, and scored on us."

Defensively, the Sixers looked out of sync. Typically, they can rely on their big man Joel Embiid to substantially impact that side of the ball, but the five-time All-Star admitted after the game that it was far from his best defensive effort.

In fact, Embiid simply claimed he was "terrible" on defense.

"I was terrible defensively today," said Embiid. "Especially in that third quarter, so there is really no explanation, I guess. I need to play with more energy and move my feet better, but I just have to be better."

The Sixers fell short to the Raptors with a disappointing 103-88 loss. Now, they'll have to head back to Toronto to face the Raptors for a Game 6. A win for the Sixers would allow them to advance to the next round to face the Miami Heat. 

However, a third-straight loss for Philadelphia would cause the Sixers to face the Raptors for Game 7 at home on Saturday night.

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