Game Time: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 16th, 2022 

Venue:   Well Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Where to Watch: ESPN 

DraftKings:  Spread: 76ers -4.5; O/U 216

Fanduel:  Spread:  76ers -4.5; O/U 216

BetMGM:  Spread: 76ers -4.5; O/U 215.5

Raptors: 48-34, 5th place Eastern Conference

76ers: 51-31, 4th place Eastern Conference

A very tense Eastern Conference NBA first round Playoff series.  Games like these are why we have a first round!  A matchup between the 5th seed and the 4th seed is traditionally extremely even.  Add in the intrigue of this season that one of the key players for the 4th seed team frivolously did not get vaccinated and literally can not even travel to where half the games will be played!  The Toronto Raptors are a fun team… there is no other way to explain them… They have three almost great players that are fun to cheer for and fun to watch: PG Fred VanVleet, PF Pascal Siakam (both NBA Champions 3 seasons ago) and the most exciting rookie Toronto has had since VC, Scottie Barnes.  I don’t list a position for Scottie as he can play anywhere on the court except Center.  That is probably the problem… that is probably why the Raptors will not get far in these playoffs… They have no quality Center anywhere on the roster!  The Center position in Toronto is just a rotation of PF’s… most of whom are undersized power forwards to begin with.  The Center spot is the glaring weakness for the Raptors.  The Philadelphia 76ers have a legitimate MVP in CENTER Joel Embiid.. They also have SG/PG James Harden who himself is only a few seasons removed from his own MVP award.  Embiid at Center against a team without a Center is a BIG BIG BIG deal.  During the season Embiid did everything for Philly a player could do for a team… 30.6 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 4.2 apg, and 1.5 bpg… truly MVP numbers (not quite Jokic numbers, but still)... Embiid also brought hustle, emotion, and weathered 65% of the season with sore thumb Ben Simmons in street clothes and pouting at a level no player ever has before… Not even Kyrie Irving!... That was some World Class Pouting.  When the Sixers traded Simmons and some pieces to get Harden at the Trade Deadline… Embiid was set free.  The anchor around his neck was lifted and his team now had actual potential to match Embiid’s talent.  Plus some of the remaining players outside of the Big Two are very talented. Let’s look at the numbers and find the Great Betting Opportunity! 

The Toronto Raptors have won 8 of their last 10 games. They went 6-4 ATS during that stretch.  The second half of the season, complete with a sprint toward the finish line, helped the Raptors distinguish themselves from the teams that got stuck in the Play-In tournament. Leading scorer and rebounder PF Pascal Siakam (22.8, 8.5) has the experience to lead this team to great heights.  The Championship ring he won as the Robin to Kawhi Leonard’s Batman… is still fresh.  He will need lots of help against Philly’s frontline with Ebiid and Harris the question is who will need the biggest game?  PF Khem Birch, PF Precious Anchiuwa, or PF Chris Boucher?... All of whom will have to play Center.  The Raptors are a really good defensive team… but if Siakam gets stuck playing defense on Embiid it will sap a lot of their already mediocre offensive punch on the other end.

The Philadelphia 76ers have won 6 of their last ten games.  They went 3-7 ATS during that stretch. As the season wound down, the 76ers got a huge break in the schedule.  The final two games of the season were against Detroit and Indiana!  The Sixers picked up easy wins without taxing the system too much… as Embiid got to rest.  The game before that however was a loss to THESE Toronto Raptors. In that game Embiid had 30 points and 10 rebounds while getting very less scoring help than normal from James Harden.  Harden had 13 points and 15 assists?... WTF kind of statline is that?... UNLESS Harden is the best teammate of all time and was feeding Embiid to help him win the MVP/  Harden has taken a lot of guff as people have noticed his scoring and attention seems to have dipped in the last 2-3 weeks of the season.  However, Harden is the type of Vet and previous MVP that knows all that matters is the Playoffs… beating yourself up to get the 3rd spot in the Playoffs when ultimately everyone that expects to win it all will have to beat everyone else of quality anyway.

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Toronto was 48-34 on the season, but 47-35 ATS.  They logged 41 Overs and 41 Unders.  They are 24-17 in road games.

The Sixers are 51-31 on the season, but 37-43-2 ATS.  They have notched 38 Overs, 41 Unders, and 3 Push

The Toronto Raptors are 20th in scoring with 109.4 ppg, 8th in rebounds with 45.3 per game, and 17th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8.  On defense they rank 7th while holding opponents to 107.1 ppg.

The Sixers are 18th in scoring with 109.9 ppg, 29th in rebounds with 42.3, and 8th in AST/TO ratio with 1.9.  On defense they rank 8th while holding opponents to 107.3 ppg.

Our prediction for Saturday, April 16th is…..  76ers 118 - Raptors 116

The Sixers will get game 1… but the Raptors will cover..  We will see a full game of Joel Embiid beating up on each and every Raptor faux Center before Nick Nurse can come up with a Playoff rotation that will give the Raptors a win.  Plus the Sixers know that they NEED every home game… since they will be hitting Toronto without SF Matisse Thybulle.. He is a BIG part of the Philly defense.  If the Sixers don’t fight to get everything at home… The Raptors will eat them alive. The numbers for these teams are desperately close and James Harden tends to be in sleepy mode when the pressure is really on.

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Toronto is 34-18 ATS versus Philly in Philly since 1996.

Toronto is 67-42 ATS versus Philly since 1996.

7 of 11 games in this series have gone Under since 1996.

Toronto: All hands on deck.

Sixers: C Charles Bassey (shoulder) Out

Toronto: PF Pascal Siakam, SF OG Anunoby, PG Fred Van Vleet, SG Scottie Barnes, C Khem Birch

Sixers: PF Tobias Harris, SF Matisse Thybulle, C Joel Embiid, PG Tyrese Maxey, SG James Harden

Raptors: Nick Nurse

76ers: Doc Rivers