What to watch in Sixers-Raptors Game 2: Scottie Barnes’ absence
The Raptors will unfortunately be without potential Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes, who up until his gnarly ankle sprain in the second half was Toronto’s lone bright spot in Game 1 — 15 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists in 31 minutes. His absence will be deeply felt, and it will be fascinating to see how the Raptors work around it rotationally.
Barnes is something of a Swiss Army Knife for the Raptors. He’s part starting center, part backup point guard. He was the primary James Harden defender in Game 1, he was central to Toronto’s aggressive rebounding brigade all season, and his strength makes him a deadly scoring threat when afforded the size advantage. A lot of Toronto’s vaunted versatility goes out with window without Barnes.
That said, the Raptors will have to make due. Expect OG Anunoby to get the Harden assignment in Game 2 — and he’s a more than capable substitute on that front. The Raptors will probably get bigger with the starting five too, slotting Precious Achiuwa in at center. He has been Toronto’s most competent Embiid defender. The backup guard spot will get tricky, especially with Gary Trent Jr. likely missing Game 2 as well. We could see Malachi Flynn make an appearance for the Raptors, which would give the Sixers a rare opportunity to hunt switches.
Barnes’ absence sucks. It changes the chemistry of the series entirely, and we can only hope the absence is temporary. The Sixers should be primed to take advantage, but the Raptors potentially getting even bigger for stretches could complicate matters for Embiid.