Raptors-76ers: A Friday Night Classic?

Where To Watch: 7:00 pm est on TSN2

After having his teammates at his home in Philadelphia last night to watch the All-Star Selection announcement together, Kyle Lowry will lead the Raptors against the 76ers tonight.

As you all know, the Raptors haven't been playing so well of late, but Wednesday's loss in Memphis did offer some encouraging signs. The team put together what I thought was one of their strongest 48-minute efforts in awhile. Of course, it's always going to be tough winning games when you shoot 5-for-28 from downtown and 31.8 percent overall.

Another subplot to follow will be DeMar DeRozan's play tonight. In his first three games from the injury layoff, DeRozan put up 20-plus points against Philadelphia, Atlanta and New Orleans. But in two games this week against the Bucks and Grizzlies, DeRozan has gone a combined 2-for-20 from the field (including an 0-for-9 in Milwaukee) and gotten to the free throw line just three times in two games.

DeRozan loves to rain difficult mid-range jumpers from all over the court, but he's most efficient on the offensive end when he's driving to the basket, drawing fouls or finishing around the rim. Let's keep an eye on whether he comes out more aggressive tonight, gets himself some easy shots before working on his mid-range game.

The Sixers, of course, are not a good team, and they're not trying to be right now. But even though they've lost three in a row, they have the best record in the Atlantic Division (4-6) over the last ten games. So there's that.

And of course, the Raptors will look to stay undefeated against the Atlantic Division this season. It's easy to pencil this in as a win, but with the inconsistent play of the Raptors lately, let's proceed with caution.

Discuss!