PHILADELPHIA 76ERS VS. TORONTO RAPTORS BETTING PREVIEW

The Philadelphia 76ers had major expectations this season with the additions of Danny Green and Seth Curry and getting the main roster healthy. Their superstar centerpiece Joel Embiid has finally put it all together this season. He is the leading NBA MVP candidate averaging 30 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal and block per game. The 76ers as a team have finally put it all together as well, as they are sitting atop the eastern conference by one game over the Brooklyn Nets with a record of 20-11.

The Toronto Raptors have taken a step back with the loss of Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka and the regression of Pascal Siakam. The Raptors sit at 5th in the east with a record of 16-15. The back-court duo of Fred Van Vleet and Kyle Lowry has been a major bright spot as Van Vleet is averaging 20 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds a game to go along with Lowry’s 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists per game.

Philadelphia 76ers betting preview:

The 76ers are hitting on all cylinders this season so far. The duo of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid have proved to be lethal. The role players like Seth Curry, Matisse Thybulle, and rookie Tyrese Maxey all have had immoderate impacts off the bench. Seth Curry, at one point in the season, was having a 50/50/100 season which means he was shooting 50% from the field and from beyond the arc without missing a free throw all year, that has since been broken, but he’s still overachieving big time for Philly.

The 76ers are 3-3 in their last 6 games, and in all of those games, they were favored by 3 or more points. The last meeting between these two teams happened all the way back on Sunday, where the Raptors covered the spread of +6.5 with a 110-103 win to tie the season series at 1-1. Philadelphia is 15-15-1 against the spread this year compared to Toronto, who is almost identical at 15-16 against the spread this season.

Toronto Raptors betting preview:

The Raptors haven’t had the season they were expecting. Guys like Siakam and Lowry taking steps back in their overall games, and the losses of some key bug men in the paint in the off-season are taking their toll on this team. Guys like Norman Powell and Chris Boucher have stepped up nicely while the starters try to get things figured out. Powell is averaging 17 points and 3 rebounds in 29 minutes, with Boucher averaging 13 and 6 in 24 minutes a game.

The Raptors have won 4 in a row, including a win on Sunday against this very same team. This has been a back-and-forth series of games this season between these two eastern conference heavyweights, with each game being decided by single-digit points. I think that loss on Sunday was a wake-up call to the 76ers, especially because the Nets are only 1 game behind them for the top spot in the conference, and I think the 76ers are going to take all these in-conference games that much more serious because of the playoff implications these midseason losses can have.

Toronto and Philadelphia odds and lines:

Draftkings has the odds opened with the 76ers being favored by 1.5 points with an over/under set at 222.5.

My free pick of the night is the Over of 222.5 and Philadelphia covering the spread of 1.5.

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