Philadelphia 76ers vs. Toronto Raptors: Odds, Prediction
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Charlie Grant
The Raptors look to sweep the Sixers in the second game of a home-and-home set on Saturday night at the ACC. Philly is trying to avoid picking up its ninth loss in its last 10 games.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Toronto is 22-8 straight up and 18-12 against the spread after its 114-109 win at Philadelphia on Thursday night. The Dinos are averaging 117.8 points a night over their last four games and they’ve covered the spread in six of their last eight games.
The 76ers are battling through some hard times right now. The club is 1-7-1 ATS in its last eight games and 16-14-1 on the year. The over is 5-1 in Philly’s last six games and 17-14 on the year.
The Raptors are 9-1 SU and 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games against the 76ers.
Philadelphia 76ers
Philly is desperate to get big man Joel Embiid back, but his long injury history means the team must be careful not to rush him back too soon. He’s missed five of the last seven games because of a sore back and the Sixers are 0-5 SU and 1-4 ATS in those contests.
Embiid is questionable to play on Saturday and its most likely Philly will rest him against the Raptors so that he’ll be 100 percent for the team’s game on Christmas Day in front of a national audience.
Making matters worse on the injury front – starting shooting guard JJ Redick is expect to sit a second straight game because of a nagging hamstring injury.
Toronto Raptors
DeMar DeRozan was the story for Toronto on Thursday night. The three-time All-Star notched a career-high 45 points on 13 of 21 shooting from the field and 13 of 15 made at the charity stripe. He also hit a career-high six triples in the contest.
