Philadelphia 76ers: 3 takeaways from Game 1 defeat vs. Raptors

2. Jimmy Butler has to be better defensively

Jimmy Butler was brought to Philadelphia to be the go-to closer, the third member of a new Big 3 and the two-way, 3-and-D wing this team needed to be more balanced. With his imposing leadership, competitive fire, 3-point shooting and lockdown defense, he was the superstar that would raise the Sixers’ ceiling and help them challenge for the Eastern belt.

He was … none of those things in Game 1.

https://twitter.com/JoshEberley/status/1122308728680669185

Butler’s had problems fitting in here and there since his arrival in Philadelphia, but the guy who put up 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting, with just five assists and three rebounds, can’t be the Jimmy Buckets they get in this series.

It’d be one thing if Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and/or Tobias Harris were going off and he took a backseat to focus on that stifling perimeter defense, but nobody on the Sixers had it going offensively in Game 1, and even worse, he was burnt to a crisp in his matchup with Kawhi Leonard.

The Claw posted a playoff career-high 45 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 16-of-23 from the field, 3-of-7 from downtown and 10-of-11 from the foul line. Sometimes there’s just nothing you can do about a star of Leonard’s caliber, but isn’t that exactly what the Sixers got Butler for in the first place?

While Kawhi looked like the best player in the world, Butler was invisible on offense and only notable on defense because he was being roasted alive. That can’t continue to be the case on either end of the floor, or this series could be heading for a sweep.