The NBA is full of classic rivalries. There’s the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, there was the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons in the ’90s, and there was the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers for a while earlier in the decade.
Now, there could be a new one that will enter the fray and that’s the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors. After a classic 7 game series in the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals and a game where Joel Embiid went scoreless, the Sixers are not treating the Raptors as just a regular game in December.
Coach Brett Brown stated:
“To dust it off and say it’s just another game, I will not say that at all,” said Brown. “It would be disingenuous, our recent history with them, you remember. It’s true, they are the NBA champs. The game that we lost in Toronto doesn’t go away quickly.”
Neither are the Raptors as coach Nick Nurse believes the two teams are entering the beginning of a rivalry.
“I think Brett’s right. I think there’s a rivalry here certainly with the classic series that we had a year ago,” said Nurse. “We’ve already seen them one time and I think we’re constantly evaluating how they look and they’re doing the same and what kind of things we can take to the future if we run into each other. The chances are there that we do play in the playoffs, not guaranteed for sure, but there’s a chance that we’ll have to go through each other. I think any time that’s the case, the games have a more special meaning this time of year.”
The Sixers and the Raptors will get underway at 6:00 p.m. EST in Round 2 of their playoff rematch. [lawrence-related id=20890,20880,20863]