Kawhi Leonard Dominant as Raptors Rout Ben Simmons, 76ers

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The Toronto Raptors lost their first game of the season Monday night with Kawhi Leonard on the bench.

Leonard was back Tuesday. So were the unstoppable Raptors.

Leonard scored 31 points to lead six Raptors in double figures in a 129-112 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Toronto shot 51.1 percent and forced 23 turnovers by the Sixers, who looked listless on both ends of the floor. Kyle Lowry added 20 points and 12 assists, while Pascal Siakam had a 15-point, 15-rebound double-double.

Joel Embiid led the way for Philadelphia with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Ben Simmons finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, 10 assists and 11 turnovers in a disappointing performance.

Sixers Need to End Fultz-Simmons Starting Lineup Experiment

It just isn’t working.

The Sixers weren’t winning this game regardless of who was in the starting lineup, but they’re shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly by starting Markelle Fultz alongside Simmons.

Fultz has occasionally shown flashes of brilliance, and keeping him in the starting five is a long-term play. He clearly has some confidence issues, so naming him a starter was a nice gesture in theory.

In practice, it’s been a disaster.

Simmons can’t and doesn’t shoot. Fultz has been a somewhat willing but mostly incapable shooter. Embiid thinks he’s a better shooter than he is. As this season has underscored, shooting matters more than ever.

The Sixers’ best stretch of the game came early in the fourth quarter with JJ Redick playing with the starters. 

Head coach Brett Brown needs to put Redick back in the starting five and give Fultz the reins of the second unit. If Fultz doesn’t handle the demotion well, that’s more telling than anyone in the Sixers organization would care to admit.

What’s Next?

The Sixers host the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. The Raptors start a four-game road trip in Phoenix on Friday.