The Sixers’ draft lottery odds have certainly gotten a bit better during their latest losing streak.
That skid grew to eight games Sunday night with a 127-109 defeat to the Raptors at Wells Fargo Center.
As things stand, the Sixers would have the fifth-best odds in the May 12 lottery. The team will retain its first-round pick in this year’s draft if it falls within the top six.
Lonnie Walker IV led the 23-52 Sixers with 23 points and seven assists.
Ricky Council IV recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 18 points.
RJ Barrett had 31 points for the Raptors, who now sit at 28-47.
Both teams had a slew of players either injured or resting. The Sixers had only nine available players.
Next up for the Sixers is a Tuesday night matchup with the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Here are observations on their loss to the Raptors:
Add another lineup to the list
Another night, another Sixers starting lineup. The team played its 51st starting five this season on Sunday: Jared Butler, Walker Justin Edwards, Council and Adem Bona.
Fouls and turnovers were problematic in the first quarter. Edwards and Butler each got whistled for two early fouls and the Sixers committed the night’s first six turnovers. They threw quite a few off-target passes and gave Toronto regular opportunities to score in transition.
Barrett was aggressive in his opening stint, scoring 10 points in under five minutes. An Ochai Agbaji three-pointer put the Raptors up 21-12.
The Sixers then turned to a makeshift four-man second unit of Hood-Schifino, Marcus Bagley, Alex Reese and Phillip Wheeler. Hood-Schifino ended the first quarter on a sweet note when he sunk a step-back triple.
Edwards cools off
The Sixers took a lot of tired-looking jumpers on the second night of their back-to-back. As a team, they started 2 for 14 from three-point range.
Edwards (12 points, seven rebounds, four assists) went 0 for 4.
Prior to Sunday, Edwards had scored at least 17 points in seven consecutive games. He’d also made at least one three-pointer in every game during that stretch and shot 50 percent beyond the arc (23 for 46).
Outside shooting was certainly not the Sixers’ sole issue in the second quarter.
They were called for an eight-second violation in the final minute of the second quarter when Butler simply didn’t get the ball across half court in time. Ja’Kobe Walter’s tip-in just before the second-quarter buzzer sent the Raptors into halftime with a 63-49 lead.
Sixers winning race to bottom
The Sixers fell behind by as many as 21 points early in the third quarter, but they made a run back into the game, cutting their deficit as low as six.
Walker had some sharp moments generating his own offense. He also tossed a few creative assists, spotting open teammates off of his drives.
Bona played a nice third quarter and overall game, too.
The rookie big man was again highly efficient, posting 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting and eight rebounds. He also blocked five shots, giving him 11 over his last three games.
Ultimately, even the rebuilding Raptors clearly had more talent available than the Sixers.
They finished off a win without any fourth-quarter drama and the Sixers extended their “lead” over Toronto in the race to the bottom.
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