Raptors Uprising look ahead after losses to 76ers GC

TORONTO, Canada—Raptors Uprising GC, NBA 2K League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors, put forth another strong effort Friday night, however, once again came up just short, dropping a pair of games—including one in overtime–to a talented fourth-place 76ers GC side.

“We’re just going into the game with nothing to lose, we have something to steal,” said Team and Business Ops. Coordinator Kevin Franklin. “So, we went in pretty loose, and it showed in the first quarter of the first game and we were playing really fluidly.”

As Franklin pointed out, Raptors Uprising—one through five—came out firing in the opening game, jumping out to a 16-12 lead after the opening quarter. The team continued their steady play in the second, as they entered halftime up by one, large in part thanks to the play of All Hail Trey, who was making just his second start of the season at shooting guard. The Arkansas native entered the break with 12 points, including an efficient 4-for-5 shooting from three-point range.

In the third quarter, however, things quickly unraveled, as 76ers GC would start the second half with a 13-0 run, taking the life out of a trialed Toronto side. From that point on, the team from the North would have no answer for Philadelphia, who simply put caught fire, knocking down shots that were even heavily contested. They would outscore Toronto 51-27 in the second half to take Game 1 by a score of 84-61.

Fourth-overall pick Dre led all scorers, pouring in 37 points and 10 assists, while All Hail Trey led all of Raptors Uprising with 19 of his own.

Like a goldfish, Raptors Uprising would put that loss in the rearview as they started Game 2 with a quick 9-0 run and would maintain a 12-point after one. Unfortunately, the next six minutes belonged to 76ers GC, who quickly cut Toronto’s lead to just two points heading into halftime.

While it would’ve been easy for Toronto to back down at that point, the team continued to show some fight in a back-and-forth third quarter, setting up a very interesting fourth as the two teams entered the final quarter tied at 54 apiece.

Thanks to the strong play of Kenny Got Work, who finished this contest with 27 points and 17 assists, and some clutch buckets from TsJosh, Raptors Uprising looked like they were in the driver’s seat, leading by six points with under two minutes to play. Though, that’s when Dre once again stepped up and took over for his team, pulling 76ers GC back to within three with enough time for one possession left on the clock.

And perhaps somewhat miraculously, shooting guard Arooks would find space from beyond the arc and knock down a clutch bucket to tie the game at 77 apiece, forcing overtime. At that point, Dre would take over, continuously driving to the lane and coming up with some emphatic finishes at the rim to finish this one with 33 points and 13 assists.

Philadelphia would outscore Raptors Uprising 14-9 in the extra frame, to take Game 2 91-86.

“Going into the second game, we stuck to that (nothing to lose) mentality, and Kenny took over in the third and the fourth, but it was just tough trying to maintain that fire the whole game,” said Franklin. “I like the performance, but I think we just have to close out games to our fullest potential and keep putting our foot to the pedal.”

“Once we’re on a bit of a losing streak … it’s one of those things where even minor mistakes that if we had a winning record or if we were coming off a win streak wouldn’t really bug us,” added Franklin. “But just having that extra pressure on their shoulders and knowing that every mistake counts, it’s something that’s going through their head constantly.

“We’re getting mentally stronger, and moving forward, we’re going to work on that as much as we are with the physical game.”

Looking ahead, the biggest story of the past week for Raptors Uprising was the acquisition of Dimez, the first ever draft pick chosen in the NBA 2K League. Combining his talent in the backcourt alongside reigning MVP Kenny Got Work and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Timelycook is something the team is very much looking forward to.

“The game plan now is to get Dimez here as quickly as possible and to just get clicking with Dimez, which is something I’m very excited for because he does have the chemistry in the past with Cook and Kenny and some of the other guys, so I think that’ll be a quick click,” said Franklin. “And once we get going, I think we’ll be a really dangerous team heading into THE TICKET.”

THE TICKET, the final in-season tournament of the year which automatically grants the winning team a berth into the NBA 2K League playoffs, may just be Raptors Uprising’s (5-17) last chance at making the postseason in 2021. With some much needed help on the way, the hope is that the arrival of Dimez revamps and reignites this Raptors Uprising side, a squad that boasts tremendous individual talent despite their poor record so far this season.

Up next, the team will try and build some momentum heading into a bye week with a pair of Week 8 matchups against NetsGC and Warriors Gaming Squad. As always, fans can tune in and catch all of the action on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch or YouTube channels.