{"id":529481,"date":"2026-01-11T13:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T13:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/529481\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T13:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T13:08:15","slug":"sixers-close-road-trip-with-first-of-two-in-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/529481\/","title":{"rendered":"Sixers close road trip with first of two in Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Philadelphia 76ers are playing well in 2026, their only loss in the new year a one-point defeat in overtime to the Denver Nuggets. Overall, the Sixers have won five of their past six games to climb up to fifth place in the Eastern Conference. They\u2019ll next make their final stop on their long Disney on Ice road trip, heading to Toronto for games on consecutive nights against the Raptors. After two straight games with the luxury of a clean injury report for Philadelphia, Joel Embiid is currently listed as questionable for tonight\u2019s contest<\/a>, with the open question being whether he will sit tonight or tomorrow across the back-to-back. We\u2019ll likely have a clearer idea on his status by this afternoon.<\/p>\n

On the opposing sideline, the Raptors are one of the surprise teams in the East, currently sitting fourth place with a record of 23-16 after missing the playoffs each of the past three seasons. They\u2019ve been playing well of late also, with wins in five of their last seven games. These two teams split their two prior meetings back in November, with the Sixers winning at home, 130-120, in the Trendon Watford triple-double game, and the Raptors winning in Toronto, 121-112, behind a balanced effort that saw all five Toronto starters score at least 16 points.<\/p>\n

Unlike the Sixers, however, the Raptors have a bit of an injury report to sort through tonight:<\/p>\n

RJ Barrett just suffered that ankle injury late in the game against Boston on Friday night. Given the fact that he\u2019s already been ruled out for tonight, we probably won\u2019t see him tomorrow either. Jakob Poeltl hasn\u2019t played since late December; the Raptors have opted to go small in his absence with 6-foot-7 rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles starting as the nominal \u2018center\u2019 for Toronto. Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes both missed Friday\u2019s game, so I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if they received an extra day of rest to potentially play tomorrow night. Ingram, Barrett, and Barnes are the team\u2019s three leading scorers; the Raptors will have at least one of those players out and possibly all three missing, a potentially huge advantage for the Sixers. It\u2019s nice to be on the right side of injury fortune for a change.<\/p>\n

Depending on who suits up for each team, we could be looking at the Sixers as sizable favorites tonight. However, as we saw last week against Denver, sometimes a ragtag bunch of guys who don\u2019t normally see major minutes can prove to be dangerous. The Sixers will need to focus and handle their business. A win this evening means Philadelphia would jump Toronto up to fourth place in the East. Of course, these teams will be right back at it tomorrow night, so if the Sixers could also manage to do it without it being their typical nailbiter down to the final seconds where key players have to log 40 minutes, all the better.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure everyone tonight will be keyed in to this one from the opening tip. After all, what else is going on in Philadelphia sports later today?<\/p>\n

When: Sunday, January 11, 6:00 p.m. ET
Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON, Canada
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers<\/a><\/p>\n