Podcast: Sixers vs. Raptors first-round preview

Paul Hudrick, Jackson Frank and Jas Kang do a deep dive on the series.

By SB Nation NBA News Apr 11, 2022, 3:22pm EDT

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Its’ the best time of the year for hoops fans.

The 2022 NBA playoffs get underway on Saturday and will feature Game 1 between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors.

The Sixers (51-31) finished the regular season tied with the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference but wound up as the No. 4 seed due to the tiebreaker rules. While the Raptors (48-34) made a furious climb up the standings over the second half of the season, winning 25 of their final 36 games to claim the No. 5 seed in the East.

During the regular season, Philly dropped three out of four games against Toronto and will have some intriguing matchup decisions throughout the series.

In the latest episode of the Sixers Daily podcast, Paul Hudrick and Jackson Frank join Jas Kang for a deep dive on the first-round matchup. The guys discuss:

How will the Sixers be able to handle the Raptors’ offensive rebounding?
What can the Sixers do to take advantage of Joel Embiid’s abilities against an undersized Toronto squad?
James Harden’s hamstring and how it will hold up during the series.
Who will the Sixers start throughout the series?
Will Doc Rivers give Paul Reed some minutes, given how good he looked during the past few games?
Mattise Thybulle’s vaccination status and how it will impact Rivers’ decision-making, especially for the games played in Toronto?
Eastern Conference predictions for the first round of the playoffs.

You can listen to the full episode below:

Or through one of the following links:

What is your prediction for the series?