On Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena, the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors will play a game that could play a notable role in shaping the future of the NBA. However, most of the notable players between the two sides are on the injury report. This Philadelphia-Toronto matchup is a tank-off between teams that could have a decent chance at landing Cooper Flagg.
The 76ers, at 22-42, are just 0.5 games above the 22-43 Raptors in the Eastern Conference standings. Respectively, they’re in tied-for-sixth and fifth place in the draft lottery. Philly can leapfrog Toronto in the standings for the draft lottery, which is huge for a team that loses its pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder if it falls out of the top six. In the fifth spot, Philly has a 63.9 percent chance to keep its pick. In the sixth spot, it's just a 45.8 percent chance.
The Sixers keeping that pick would go a long way toward bouncing back from this horrific season. Still, the Raptors are rebuilding and surely want the biggest chance they can get to land Flagg. The group of players that will have a sizable impact on either outcome coming to fruition does not include most of the stars between both sides.
Between the two teams, 19 players are listed on the injury report, 14 of them being ruled out — and those numbers could change in the lead-up to the tip-off at 7:30 P.M. EST.
Expand Tweet
76ers, Raptors each submit length injury reports
The 76ers will be without:
Joel Embiid (left knee injury management)
Tyrese Maxey (lower back sprain and finger sprain)
Paul George (left groin soreness)
Jared McCain (left knee meniscus surgery)
Kyle Lowry (right hip injury management)
Eric Gordon (right wrist surgery)
Related Philadelphia 76ers NewsArticle continues below
Other Sixers on the injury report include Kelly Oubre Jr. (right ankle sprain) and Andre Drummond (illness), who are both listed as questionable.
One of the players currently listed as out for the 76ers is Jalen Hood-Schifino, a former first-round pick they signed to a two-way contract. He has only played in one game with the Delaware Blue Coats so far and has not been made available for a game with the Sixers yet.
The Raptors will be without:
Brandon Ingram (left ankle sprain)
RJ Barrett (personal reasons)
Immanuel Quickey (rest)
Gradey Dick (right knee bone bruise)
Jonathan Mogbo (nasal fracture)
Ja'Kobe Walter (right hip flexor)
Ulrich Chomche (right knee, partial proximal ACL tear)
Scottie Barnes (right hand, sprained fifth MP joint) and Jamison Battle (nasal fracture) are listed as questionable and Ochai Agbaji (left ankle sprain) is doubtful.
The 76ers and Raptors have beaten up on each other plenty over the years, seeing each other twice in recent playoff series and playing four times per regular season. But now, the Atlantic Division foes surely wouldn’t mind taking a loss in this game. Oh, and when they face each other again at the end of the month in Philadelphia, too.