Joel Embiid has arrived to the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Philadelphia 76ers big man stole the show in Thursday’s blowout victory over the Toronto Raptors. Embiid put on a clinic at both ends of the floor finishing with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and five swats as Philly put it on Toronto 116-95. Now, the momentum has shifted drastically in this series. The two teams are back at it Sunday afternoon for Game 4.

NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis

Oddsmakers had the Raptors set as 1.5-point favourites to bounce back at the open, but news that Pascal Siakam is doubtful with a calf contusion forced them to make a drastic change to the point spread. About 24 hours from the tip, the 76ers are 2-point favourites with a 214.5-point total on the board.

You might want to keep an eye on that over/under too. If Toronto is without Siakam, that is a huge loss. Outside of Kawhi Leonard, he has been the only constant scoring threat the Raps have had in these playoffs. The 76ers have played under the total in five straight games, while Toronto has played under in eight of its last nine overall.

Toronto Raptors

Even before the Siakam injury news broke, things weren’t looking good for the Raps. They were thoroughly outplayed in every aspect of Game 3’s loss and were left searching for answers.

“I guess we’re going to have to play all of them a lot harder,” Dinos coach Nick Nurse told reporters. “We’re going to have to play a hell of a lot more physical. I mean if we don’t do that, the prettiest things we decided to do offensively aren’t going to matter much.”

If they don’t do that they’re going to be heading back to Toronto on the brink of elimination. Many are questioning how tough the Raptors are right now and rightfully so.

Philadelphia 76ers

While the Raptors are suddenly scrambling to find their game, the 76ers seem to be getting stronger. They fed off an electric crowd in Game 3 and pushed Toronto around. Although it has to be said that the officials have been giving the Sixers the benefit of the doubt throughout this series, there’s no question that Philly looks like a tougher team. The 76ers are playing physical playoff basketball, forcing the officials into the spotlight. They got into the paint consistently,  shooting better than 50 percent on Thursday and held Toronto to just 7-of-25 shooting (26 percent) from beyond the arc. That’s a recipe for success in the post-season.

RAPTORS

Away

101

76ERS

Home

109

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