Philadelphia 76ers: 5 keys to second round series vs. Raptors

4. Control the glass

Both the Sixers and Raptors were two of the better rebounding teams during the regular season, ranking second and ninth in defensive boards per game, respectively. Where these two opponents diverge is on the offensive glass.

Philadelphia was a problem to keep off boards offensively, grabbing 10.9 a game, good for 11th-best in the league. Joel Embiid is a hard guy to stop at his size, and the deadline addition of the 7’3″, 290-pound Boban Marjanovic is sure to give Toronto headaches in the restricted area.

The Raptors, meanwhile, ranked 24th overall in offensive rebounds per game. The big man trio of Marc Gasol, Pascal Siakam and Serge Ibaka rarely operates around the paint. Gasol tends to run the offense out of the high-post, while Ibaka likes to flash out beyond the arc and Siakam functions part-time as a point forward. That perimeter-centric play makes it difficult for Toronto to crash the glass, a logical explanation for its deficiencies in that area.

For this reason, the Sixers should have no excuse to not dominate the defensive glass. Even more so, Philly should put pressure on the Raptors with a constant pursuit of every missed shot. Barring a sudden change in philosophy, it won’t have to worry about Toronto’s transition attack seeing as how it was 15th in pace during the regular season.

Doing so will not only afford them with extra possessions, but over the course of a seven-game series, it could serve them well in tiring out the Raptors’ big men and maybe even get them in some crucial foul trouble.