76ers at Raptors
The Toronto Raptors picked rest over making a serious run at the Cleveland Cavaliers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference and could give more people a day off when they host the NBA-worst Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday. The Raptors are playing a regular season-ending back-to-back while trying to figure out who their first-round opponent in the playoffs will be.
Toronto will get either the Indiana Pacers or the Detroit Pistons in the opening round and is concentrating on getting the right mindset heading into the postseason. “Now we’ve really got to understand that the game of basketball is mental now, we’ve really got to lock in mentally,” guard DeMar DeRozan told reporters. “… Nothing is secret anymore. Everybody knows what everybody can do, what plays they like to run, everything.” The 76ers are bound for the most ping pong balls in the draft lottery once again but took a step toward the future by reaching into Toronto’s past. Philadelphia officially hired Bryan Colangelo, who was president and general manager of the Raptors from 2006-13, as its team president over the weekend.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, TSN (Toronto)
ABOUT THE 76ERS (10-70): Jerry Colangelo was brought in by ownership in December as chairman of basketball operations and general manager Sam Hinkie resigned last week, opening the door for Colangelo to bring his son Bryan into the mix. Jerry Colangelo will step aside and become a special advisor to ownership while Bryan runs the front office. “We’re really changing our focus toward winning,” Bryan Colangelo told reporters. “That’s something of a shift in culture.”
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (54-26): Toronto’s big splash in free agency last summer was the signing of small forward DeMarre Carroll, who has played only 25 games while dealing with knee injuries. Carroll returned to the lineup at Atlanta last week and played 17 minutes off the bench on Sunday as he works his way back into shape. “He’s definitely going to be a key piece,” DeRozan told reporters of Carroll. “He’s getting his wind back, getting his legs under him, just getting in the rhythm of things, getting a feel defensively.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The 76ers attempted a franchise-record 46 3-pointers in Sunday’s 109-108 overtime loss to Milwaukee, connecting on 13.
2. Raptors SG Norman Powell slumped to two points on 1-of-6 shooting Sunday after posting a season-high 27 on Friday.
3. Toronto has taken 11 straight in the series.