The last time Toronto and Philadelphia played was on Feb. 5, when the Raptors went into the 76ers' building and got an easy win.
Later that night, the 76ers struck a deal to get Tobias Harris. And about a day later, the Raptors traded for Marc Gasol.
The roster remodeling that the 76ers and Raptors were involved in at the trade deadline was done with postseason goals in mind — so it seems fitting that the teams are about to square off for a berth in the Eastern Conference finals. The second round of the NBA playoffs starts Saturday, when Philadelphia goes to Toronto for Game 1.
"Both have had a lot of changes throughout the year," Toronto forward Pascal Siakam said. "It will definitely feel different. It kind of feels like the first time we're meeting them."
Toronto has won 21 of the past 24 meetings between the teams and went 3-1 against the 76ers this season.
"We've never played them with the team we have," 76ers coach Brett Brown said.
That goes back to what happened almost immediately following the last Raptors-76ers matchup. Toronto's 119-107 victory hadn't been an hour old before news broke that the 76ers were sending three players and four draft picks to the Los Angeles Clippers for Harris, Boban Marjanovic and Mike Scott. Marjanovic has been a solid backup for Joel Embiid, and Scott made perhaps the biggest shot of the 76ers' first-round win over Brooklyn.
Scott is now ailing and seems likely to miss Game 1, if not more games, with a heel injury. The speed the Raptors play with may affect Marjanovic's use in this series. But Harris fits in perfectly with the 76ers' needs on both ends — just as Gasol, who will be primarily tasked with slowing Embiid, has done since joining the Raptors.
