Sixers-Raptors rivalry remains strong despite teams heading in different directions: ‘Hopefully, we see them later’

Monday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors is a reminder that the 76ers’ late-October trip north of the border can now be viewed as an early benchmark of their season.

After losing their first of their two consecutive games against the Raptors to drop to 1-4, a candid off-day film session led to a comfortable 112-90 victory in their rematch the following night. That win was the start of a 7-3 stretch to stabilize the Sixers’ season, even as Joel Embiid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey missed time because of injury or illness.

“You have to go through stuff like that to eventually reach the top,” reserve forward Georges Niang said. “We’ve had multiple conversations and multiple practices where, I don’t want to say guys have been called out, but it’s been addressed what we need from everybody to be successful.

“I think we’re kind of hitting our stride with that right now.”

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Consider those two games another layer in the sizzling Sixers-Raptors rivalry, which was ignited by Kawhi Leonard’s iconic bouncing buzzer-beater in the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals and then continued with last spring’s first-round playoff series.

The Sixers topped the Raptors, four games to two, in April, but in the waning minutes of a Game 6 blowout to finish off the series, Pascal Siakam inadvertently elbowed Embiid in the face. The resulting orbital fracture and concussion kept Embiid out of the first two games of an Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the Miami Heat, and in a mask for the rest of the series.

Even De’Anthony Melton, who was traded to the Sixers last summer, immediately noticed the juice between the Sixers and Raptors.

“There’s a lot of ‘get-back’ that needs to be happening — not only this year, but years to come,” Melton said. “Hopefully, we see them later [in the playoffs], and we can prove it more and more why the 76ers are who we are today. …

“I was watching [that 2019 Game 7], too, so I’d be hurting the way they lost, too. I understand, though, how mad they can be and how irritated they could be with that franchise, no matter who was on the team.”

The teams entered Monday’s game heading in opposite directions, however. The Sixers had won four games in a row, while the Raptors were on a five-game skid and had lost eight out of their last 10.

Reserve swingman Furkan Korkmaz was out for Monday’s game with a non-COVID illness.

It is the second game in a row Korkmaz has missed with the sickness. He is averaging 4.8 points on 38.7% shooting and 1.4 rebounds in 16 games, primarily playing during the stretch when James Harden and Tyrese Maxey were both out with injuries.

Standout forward Tobias Harris, meanwhile, was returning from a one-game absence with back pain. He was not listed on Sunday’s injury report, indicating he was expected to play against the Raptors.

Melton and Matisse Thybulle are two elite perimeter defenders who are rarely on the floor at the same time for the Sixers.

Yet that allows both players to bounce ideas and tactics off each other. Melton said Thybulle wants to learn how he pokes the ball away from behind. Melton, meanwhile, wants Thybulle to teach him how he gets his hand on blocks and plays passing lanes.

“We’re just trying to keep active communication with each other,” Melton said. “Trying to make each other better.”

Melton entered Monday ranked third in the NBA in steals (2.2 per game) and tied for fourth in deflections (3.8 per game). Thybulle, a two-time NBA all-defensive second-teamer, averages 0.8 steals and 1.4 deflections per game.

Melton continues to manage an ongoing back problem, which most recently kept him out of last Tuesday’s win over the Sacramento Kings.

A beneficial preventative practice he has implemented during this stretch? He has tried to stop sleeping on his stomach.

“I used to sleep on my stomach a lot, and I would wake up sometimes and my back would be a little irritated,” Melton said. “… Now, I try to sleep on my back and [with] little pillows and stuff like that. It’s definitely helping my back.”