Raptors vs. 76ers Odds
| Raptors Odds | +2 |
| 76ers Odds | -2 |
| Over/Under | 212.5 |
| Time | 7 p.m. ET |
| TV | NBA TV |
| Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute NBA odds here. | |
On Thursday night, we have a great matchup between young Toronto Raptors and the persevering Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center.
It remains to be seen who will suit up for the Sixers with Seth Curry and Tobias Harris listed as questionable — Curry is dealing with a foot injury and Harris is still in the league’s heath and safety protocols (Be sure to check our FantasyLabs newsfeed for the latest injury info).
Regardless of these injuries, let’s break down the matchup and find value in the line for tonight’s game.
Raptors Don’t Thrive Off Back-to-Backs
The Raptors come into this matchup after dropping three games in a row and on a back-to-back — not an ideal spot for the Raptors to say the least.
Over the past three seasons, the Raptors have been poor when playing a conference opponent on the second half of a back-to-back set. They are 7-10 straight up and 6-11 against the spread in that spot.
The Raptors are a young and very athletic team, but shooting isn’t one of their strong points. Toronto is shooting 37.4% on Catch and Shoot jumpers and 37% on Pullups, according to NBA Tracking data. That poor shooting is a big reason why they rank 26th in the NBA in both Effective Field Goal Percentage (49.2) and True Shooting Percentage (52.2).
This young inefficient offense is a work in progress for veteran head coach Nick Nurse.
Philadelphia’s Role Players Exceeding Expectations
These 76ers have fought through adversity since the start of the season. Despite the laundry list of an injuries, including Joel Embiid (Covid protocols), the Sixers are in a good spot in the standings in the East. Entering Thursday, they lead the NBA in field goal percentage and are second in the NBA in 3-point percentage.
The next-man-up mentality for the Sixers is proven to be a winning mindset for them. In the absence of their core starters the role players; Andre Drummond, Georges Niang, and Furkan Korkmaz have been exceptional in picking up the slack, putting a great display on truly how deep the Sixers are this season.
Niang, who is averaging 13 points per game off the bench, has knocked down some big-time shots late in games and has been a crowd favorite to start off his career here in Philadelphia.
But the player who has had the biggest impact is Andre Drummond. He is averaging 15 points and 20 rebounds on 54.5% shooting in his three starts this season.
He stepped in a solidified himself as the anchor of this defense with Embiid sidelined and the Raptors rank 25th in the NBA in scoring in the restricted area. This could potentially be a great matchup for the big man to feast around the basket against a team that does not run a traditional big man at the center spot.
Raptors-76ers Pick
Despite their injury and Covid issues, I think the Sixers can continue to catch teams off guard without their main starters in the fold.
Philly falls into two profitable situational trends here. They are 27-12-1 ATS in their past 40 games when playing at home after a streak of ATS losses and are 13-3-1 ATS in that spot in their past 17 games per SDQL. When the Sixers are at home with a rest advantage since 2020 are 12-2 SU.
I would back the Sixers to cover the 2-point spread at home here and like them up to -4.
Pick: Sixers -2