Philadelphia 76ers: 4 things to watch vs. Toronto Raptors in Game 3

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(Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /

2. Greg Monroe? … Greg Monroe!

Guess who had the best plus-minus out of every Sixer to touch the floor in Game 2? Yup, Greg Monroe, just like we all thought. Remember when people wondered why he was signed and wanted to fire Brett Brown because he started a playoff game?

Moose might have earned himself a genuine spot in the rotation after his Game 2 performance. Monroe ended the night with 10 points and five boards, along with some crisp passing. Jonah Bolden isn’t capable of being the lone big on the floor, Amir Johnson can’t be trusted for more than a few short spurts, and for the umpteenth time, good teams will make Boban Marjanovic unplayable. Greg Monroe being able to give the Sixers valuable minutes is important on a team with limited depth, especially with uncertainty surrounding Mike Scott‘s health.

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Greg Monroe is one of several skilled big men to come from Georgetown in the past decade along with Roy Hibbert, Jeff Green, Otto Porter, and Process hero Henry Sims. He can finish near the basket and use his frame to carve out space for offensive rebounds.

Monroe’s presence as a roll man is his greatest asset for the Sixers. Just from the eye test, its clear the Sixers have given the pick-and-roll more usage in the past several games. Monroe is one of the best on-ball screeners on the roster. His role as a screener isn’t only due to his size (you don’t get called Moose for being little), but also how he can be utilized. But above the rest, his passing ability is what solidifies his candidacy for backup center. The short-roll pass is one of the most useful options in the half court, and nobody on the team does it better than Moose.

The passing repertoire and paint scoring shown in Game 2 was enough for Monroe to earn more minutes going forward. Look for Toronto to negate his offense by attacking him defensively in Game 3.