In a series of momentum swings, the Toronto Raptors have all the weight in their corner heading into Thursday’s Game 6 against the Philadelphia 76ers. That’s because the rest of the Raptors finally arrived to the Eastern Conference semi-finals on Tuesday to give Kawhi Leonard some help. The end result was a staggering 125-89 blowout of the listless Sixers pushing Philadelphia to the brink of elimination.

NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis

Game 5 was the first time that these teams played over the total in the series, narrowly eclipsing the 212.5-point total that was on the board by tip-off. The under was the most consistent betting trend going for these clubs, making Game 6’s odds all that more interesting. Opening odds had the Raptors listed as 1.5-point favourites with a 213.5-point total and the early action coming in supported the Dinos to cover (moving the line to -2) and the over. Looking back to Toronto’s last series against the Orlando Magic, the Raptors have covered in five of their last seven, while the Sixers are 6-4 against the spread in the playoffs.

Toronto Raptors

It took a while, but Tuesday’s effort was what Raptors supporters were expecting from this team. Kawhi Leonard was terrific again with 21 points, 13 rebounds and four assists, but for the first time in this series the rest of his teammates stole the spotlight. Pascal Siakam had a game-high 25 points and added eight rebounds, Kyle Lowry scored 19 points in a more asserted offensive effort, Danny Green hit 5-of-7 from outside, and six Raptors scored in double-digits.

Toronto broke the game wide open in the second quarter with its defence and ended up with 31 points off 19 turnovers while the club’s five starters combined for 10 steals. Even more importantly, the Dinos were plus-19 with Leonard on the bench. This might have been the game that got Toronto’s groove back. Coach Nick Nurse was able to use Leonard in a supporting role for much of the second half, which allowed Fred VanVleet, Norman Powell, and Serge Ibaka some quality minutes. If Toronto comes with another complete effort like that on Thursday, this club will be moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Philadelphia 76ers

If you’ve followed this series closely, you know how foolish it would be to count the Sixers out after Tuesday’s setback. This team has gone toe-to-toe with Toronto and easily could have taken both of the series’ games in Philadelphia. Still, it does look like this squad might be running out of steam.

Centre Joel Embiid is battling a respiratory infection to go along with his knee issues and is a shell of his usual self on the court. He gutted out 31 minutes in Game 5 to finish with 13 points and eight rebounds, but also had a team-high eight turnovers and was posterized in the paint a couple of times by Leonard. And while Jimmy Butler was solid again with 22 points, the Sixers still haven’t found a third scoring threat they can count on yet. Unless Embiid can fight through his ailments to put up another monster game or Philadelphia’s supporting cast finally breaks out, this might be the end of the road for the 76ers.

RAPTORS

Away

108

76ERS

Home

101

Score
Predictions

Matchup