Two Atlantic Division rivals faceoff on Saturday night when the Philadelphia 76ers head north of the border to take on the Toronto Raptors . Philadelphia lost their opener in a tight battle against Milwaukee 118-117, but covered as 6-point underdogs. Toronto won their home opener against Minnesota 97-94 as 1-point favorites. The 76ers took three out of four matchups against the Raptors last season. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 EST from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

76ers Drop Season Opener

The Philadelphia 76ers got the unlucky assignment of opening the season in Milwaukee against the new-look Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo welcomed an All-Star teammate in Damian Lillard, while Joel Embiid’s All-Star teammate was allegedly denied access to travel with the team. The referees may have missed a late travel when Giannis caught his own airball, but this was not the sole reason they lost. Lillard torched the 76ers defense for 39 in his Bucks’ debut, and Milwaukee also won the rebounding and turnover battle.

Tyrese Maxey is a rising star in Philadelphia. The 6’2 guard averaged 20.3 PPG last season and opened this season with a 31-piece on Milwaukee. With Harden out of the lineup, Maxey has the ball in his hands more often, and proved capable with eight assists and no turnovers in the game. Reigning MVP Joel Embiid had 24 points and seven rebounds, and continues to improve his shooting range as he knocked down three triples in the game. Tobias Harris had an efficient game, only missing one of his nine shot attempts on his way to a 20-point, seven-rebound night. DeAnthony Melton stepped into Harden’s starting spot and finished with ten points. PJ Tucker had a classic PJ Tucker game, he did not score and only took two shots in 26 minutes of action, but provided toughness and defense at a high level.

One of Philadelphia’s biggest off-season acquisitions was Kelly Oubre, and he had an excellent game in the opener. Oubre went for 27 points off the bench and shot 5-6 on his three-point attempts. Performances like this will have the coaching staff questioning if PJ Tucker’s minutes are truly worthy of a starting spot. No other bench player scored more than three points, but rotations were tight in the opener, other than Oubre no bench player played more than 14 minutes.

Out: James Harden

Coach Rajakovic Win First Game

Nick Nurse won an NBA Championship as the head coach of the Raptors, but will be on the visiting team’s sideline as he is the new coach of the 76ers. The Raptors hired Darko Rajakovic as their new head coach. It is his first head coach position after serving as an assistant for the past nine seasons with the Thunder, Suns then Grizzlies. Toronto also welcomes a new point guard as Dennis Schroder takes over the spot vacated by Fred Van Vleet. After the game coach Rajakovic spoke about his new point guard saying, “New team, new terminology, new coaching staff. There’s so much new with our team, and having somebody who’s been through it with different teams in that role of point guard brings calmness.”

Schroder played well in his Toronto debut, he led the team with 22 points, knocked down four triples, and had seven assists. O.G. Anunoby also made four three-pointers, the athletic small forward known for his defense added another 20 points and six rebounds. Two-time All-Star Pascal Siakam had a quiet game with 15 points, but also added seven rebounds and six assists. Scottie Barnes added another 17 for Toronto. The Raptors are athletic on the wing, but lack true star power, so they will need to rely on team efforts such as these to get wins.

Jakob Poeltl is a reliable starting center, he does the dirty work, but will rarely fill up a stat sheet. In the opener, Poeltl finished with seven points and 11 rebounds. No bench player reached double figures, but the reserve unit will feature a mix of Gary Trent Jr., Precious Achiuwa, and Jalen McDaniels. Grady Dick is a rookie out of Kansas, he only played two minutes, but may find a spot in the rotation with his outside shooting.

Day-to-day: C Christian Koloko