Two titans of the NBA East will contest for a place in the conference finals this weekend as the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors begin a much-anticipated showdown in Canada.
The Raptors have a slight home advantage in the seven-game series after they finished second in the Eastern Conference, but regular-season bronze medalists Philadelphia have shown they mean business.
76ers vs. Raptors Series Schedule
Game 1 – Saturday, April 27
7:30 p.m. ET – Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
TV Channel: TNT
Streaming: fuboTV (watch for free)
Game 2 – Monday, April 29
TBD – Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
TV Channel: TNT
Game 3 – Thursday, May 2
8 p.m. ET – Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
TV Channel: ESPN
Game 4 – Sunday, May 5
3:30 p.m. ET – Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
TV Channel: ABC
This season saw the Raptors rampage to pick up a fifth Atlantic Division title in the past six seasons, and they just so happened to beat Philly in three of their four meetings across 2018-19. Toronto has illustrated consistent dominance over their Atlantic rivals in recent years and has notched at least three wins over the 76ers in each season since 2012-13.
However, Philadelphia coach Brett Brown will look to the history books for inspiration considering his side edged the Raptors 4-3 in their only previous playoff series meeting. These two teams collided in the 2001 NBA Playoffs when the 76ers won the last two games to come back from 3-2 down and advance 4-3 before winning that year’s conference crown.
Joel Embiid leads the 76ers in points per game (27.5) and rebounds per game (13.6 ) this season. He came up with the kind of big plays needed to overcome the Brooklyn Nets 4-1 in the first round of the bracket, while forward Kawhi Leonard remains the key for Toronto’s Finals hopes.
Neither team has any fresh injury concerns to be worried about. The Raptors boast home court advantage and will need to capitalize quickly on their two openers in Toronto if they’re to make their second conference finals appearance. The Philadelphia 76ers are hoping to make their first conference finals appearance since 2001—their last NBA Finals appearance—as two Eastern powers revive a familiar rivalry in the last eight.
We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.
