The Toronto Raptors dominated the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but they've since lost two games in a row — one that came down to the wire, the other ending in a blowout.
Ahead of Game 4, what do you think the Raptors' chances are of winning this series?
Micah Adams (@MicahAdams13): I think it's a coin flip.
Despite lacklustre performances in Games 2 and 3, I expect the Raptors to play one of their best games of the season on Sunday. They've been one of the league's most consistent teams all season and have not lost three straight since all the way back in November. At some point, the jumpers have to start falling, right? Toronto is shooting just 29% from beyond the arc so far in this series, far short of the 37% it shot in the 1st Round and 37% it shot in the regular season.
MORE: Lowry on Leonard: "We've all gotta help him."
As marvellous as Joel Embiid looked in Game 3, it's pretty clear that Kawhi Leonard is the best player in this series. If he finally gets some help moving forward, the Raptors will be right there.
For what it's worth, FiveThirtyEight.com's projections give the Raptors a 51% chance of winning the series despite the 2-1 deficit. That feels about right.
Kyle Irving (@KyleIrv_): Ahead of Game 3, I said that I liked the 76ers to take a 2-1 lead in the series but still felt that the Raptors would take care of business – I'm sticking to that.
Did I expect Game 3 to be as lopsided as it was? Absolutely not. The effort, fight and determination from the Raptors wasn't great and Philly ran them out of the gym. I think it will be the wake up call Toronto needs to get their act together.
Kawhi Leonard is still playing some of the best basketball of his career, he just hasn't had any help. I know it hasn't been the greatest postseason from Kyle Lowry but he's still the captain and leader of this team and after a whooping like Game 3, I expect him to step up the rest of the way to give Kawhi some help and the rest of the team will follow in his steps.
The 76ers have been locked in on both sides of the floor for two games now and their bench is playing at a level we haven't seen all year. I think there will be a bit of 'regression toward the mean' in a sense that their second unit will come back down to Earth, as well as their defence.
I know this is familiar territory, but don't panic just yet Raptor fans.
Carlan Gay (@TheCarlanGay): I think if you're a Toronto Raptor diehard you should still be pretty confident heading into Game 4 on Sunday that the series is still up for grabs. Heck even if the Raptors go down 3-1 with Game 5 back at Scotiabank Arena I'd still be confident.
The Raptors have the best player in the series in Kawhi Leonard — that alone is something the Raptors or their fans have never been able to claim in any other dire situation throughout the years. Leonard and to a much lesser extent after Game 1 Pascal Siakam have kept the Raptors without striking distance on multiple occasions when they've been on the floor. It's up to the other to step up and I have faith and confidence that they eventually will.
Shots will start to fall, Philly will probably start turning over the rock as they have all season and there's no way James Ennis and the rest of the 76ers' bench can continue to dominate Toronto's second unit right?
All will get back to normal, even if they end up losing Game 4.
