Raptors expecting physical matchup in playoff rematch against 76ers

Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam insists there’s no bad blood between him and Philadelphia 76ers star centre Joel Embiid after what happened between the two during last year’s playoffs.

During last year’s first-round matchup against the 76ers, an errant Siakam elbow in the waning stages of a Raptors’ Game 6 loss caused an Embiid concussion, sidelining him for the first two games of Philadelphia’s second-round matchup against the Miami Heat.

The 76ers lost both games Embiid missed, eventually falling 4-2 in the series as they were eliminated out of the playoffs.

But Siakam says their long history together — both are just the third and fourth NBA players ever from Cameroon — have kept their relationship cordial.

“It’s good, I mean, we’re both from Cameroon, representing Cameroon,” Siakam said at Wednesday’s shootaround of his relationship with Embiid. “Obviously we’ve known each other for a while, again, like playing against each other and we’re brothers from the same country, we have a relationship, it’s all good.”

Toronto and Philadelphia will be facing off tonight and Friday for a two-game set, with both games taking place at Scotiabank Arena.

Embiid was not made available to the media pregame, per his typical request.

But for the first time, tonight’s game adds a third countryman into the mix: Raptors rookie Christian Koloko, who, like Siakam, is from Douala, Cameroon.

While things might be cool between Embiid and Siakam, Koloko knows it’s still likely to get a little chippy in the paint.

“We were just talking today [in the dressing room] about how physical the game usually is. The guys, they say it’s always physical,” Koloko said. “So I just gotta be ready because it’s gonna be a lot of physical [play] down there. Just be ready. Just be ready. Just go out there and you gotta hit first, rebound, don’t let them hit you first because that’s what they’re going to try to do.”

For Koloko, he’s already faced some of the NBA’s biggest stars in the first week of the season: Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, and his favourite player growing up, Kevin Durant, to name a few. But he’s never quite faced an opposing talent like Embiid, who is listed at 7’0″ and 280 lbs.

“I’m just gonna stick to the game plan and try to do my best,” Koloko said. “I mean, we’ll have some double team. [We’ve] got a different game plan for [Embiid]. So we’re going to see what’s the game plan for tonight.”

And there still is a part of Koloko that’s still getting used to this whole “playing in the NBA” thing.

“Oh man, it’s gonna mean a lot. It’s gonna be amazing,” Koloko added about playing Embiid. “Joel is one of the best big men in the league. I always try to watch all the best big men, Joel, [Nikola] Jokic, all those guys. So just playing against him, it’s going to mean a lot. That’s why you want to play in the NBA, you want to play against the best players in the world and he’s one of them. So I’m really excited for tonight.”

For Siakam, he’s hoping the next generation of Cameroonian children will be inspired to follow in their footsteps.

“I hope there’s a little kid 10 years from now who can say, ‘man, I watched that game and I’ve seen for three people from Cameroon [in the NBA], and I’m like, damn, I can do that.’ For me, that’s more important,” Siakam said.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 tonight, with the rematch set for Friday night at the same time.

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