"Toronto's getting swept, right it down" - Shaquille O'Neal believes the Toronto Raptors will swiftly see themselves out of the playoffs
Shaquille O'Neal sounded off his opinion on the fate of the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs, but in pure Inside The NBA fashion, backtracked within minutes of him and Charles Barkley debating on the 76ers-Raptors match-up.
"No way...Toronto's getting swept, write it down."
.@SHAQ is already betting against the Raptors in the playoffs 😳
“Toronto’s getting swept, write it down”
https://t.co/P8oKsswP1Z
Charles Barkley, in light of James Harden's recent performances, spoke about his fears surrounding the Sixers:
"I am worried about my sixers against the Raptors, I really am...they won the seasons series, and I just don't know the James Harden question... (Matisse) Thybulle can't play in Canada...I said, I don't know if it's gonna work and the biggest loser is Tobias Harris"
O'Neal was quick to retract his statements:
"Rescind it, rescind it. Toronto will get swept, rescind it, strike that from the tape"
Playoff Preview - Toronto Raptors vs Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers finished the regular-season as the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference with a 51-31 record, tied for the sixth-best record in the league. They meet the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs on April 16.
To the untrained eye, the match-up looks fairly one-sided: the Philadelphia 76ers with Joel Embiid (leading scorer in the regular-season, top three MVP Candidate) and James Harden (former MVP, 10x All-Star, 75th Anniversary Team honoree) would obviously win against the young, inexperienced Raptors, but things might not seem as clear-cut.
For one, the 76ers go up against a team that has won the regular-season series 3-1. The only game the 76ers won in that series was before the Harden trade, and with Joel Embiid and James Harden on the floor, the 76ers are 0-2 against the Toronto Raptors.
In the two games Pascal Siakam went up against the duo of Harden and Embiid, he scored 26/10/5 and 37/10/12. Charles Barkley, on TNT's "Inside The NBA," talked about Siakam:
"Siakam is a problem, Sixers don't have a wing that can guard him, he's too big and athletic for them...and now you factor in that boy can't play up in Canada, I am really worried about my Sixers"
With Matisse Thybulle unable to play in Canada due to vaccine restrictions, the 76ers don't have many who can go toe-to-toe with Pascal Siakam. James Harden and Joel Embiid will have to step-up in the playoffs because for a team that desperately made a big move at the trade deadline, there's a lot on the line.