Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers Playoffs Prediction, Odds
The Sixers are 4.5-point favourites on the NBA odds and also favoured on the series in the best-of-7.
Raptors vs. 76ers NBA Playoffs Betting Odds
The winner of this series between No. 5 Toronto and No. 4 Philadelphia almost surely will face top-seeded Miami in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Philadelphia is -179 on the series line with Toronto at +150 even though the Raptors won three of four in the regular season and covered the spread in all four. The favoured series exact result is Sixers in seven at +340, followed by Philadelphia in five at +349. The long shot is Toronto in a sweep at +2197. The over-under for total games is 5.5, with the over a -200 favourite.
To win the East, the 76ers are +557 fifth-favourites and the Raptors +2448. Saturday will be the first playoff game between the franchises since the Raptors’ epic 92-90 home victory over Philadelphia on May 12, 2019, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The winning shot, of course, was the Kawhi Leonard “bounce-bounce-bounce” at the buzzer. It was the first winning buzzer-beater in a Game 7 in NBA history.
Toronto Raptors
Could this series be the last as Raptors coach for Nick Nurse? There are many rumours out there that the Lakers will pursue him for their head coaching opening because the two LA superstars, Anthony Davis and LeBron James, want him. Nurse is represented by Klutch Sports, which also represents LeBron and AD. Needless to say, the Raptors aren’t just going to let Nurse go for nothing if they do at all. Toronto’s last playoff game was in the Orlando bubble in the summer of 2020 when the Dinos lost Game 7 of the East semifinals to Boston.
The Dinos should be healthy for Game 1 after OG Anunoby returned from injury in the regular-season finale Sunday in a meaningless loss at the Knicks and played 25 minutes. Fred VanVleet played in one of the four regular-season games vs. the Sixers. Pascal Siakam averaged 30.3 points and 8.7 rebounds in the three he played. The Raptors are 2-6 ATS in their past eight following at least three days of rest.
Philadelphia 76ers
It’s always important for a team to hold serve at home in the first two games, but the Sixers really need to because they will lose one of the NBA’s best defenders, Matisse Thybulle, for any games played in Toronto because he’s unvaccinated against COVID. Thybulle was a member of the NBA’s second-team All-Defence last season and could be voted there again.
The Sixers also have to be concerned with the struggles of James Harden, who is averaging just 15.8 points on 36.1 per cent shooting in April. Joel Embiid won the scoring title at 30.6 ppg, the first centre to do so since Shaquille O’Neal in 1999-2000. Embiid should finish second in MVP voting behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic. Embiid played in three of four games vs. Toronto this season and averaged 29.0 points and 11.3 rebounds. Philadelphia is 1-4 ATS in its past five a favourite.
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