Raptors vs 76ers Picks, Prediction Today
A night after a positively shocking blowout win over the Milwaukee Bucks, the Toronto Raptors will look to get back to .500 in another difficult matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Philly has played just three times this season, but its offense has been on full display in each contest. Will it thrive once again here against a stout Toronto defense?
Let's get to our Raptors vs. 76ers prediction and pick.
Raptors vs 76ers Prediction
It's early, but this Raptors team is looking like a strong bunch under first-year head coach Darko Rajakovic. Led by Jakob Poeltl, this frontcourt has allowed just 60% shooting inside of six feet to rank sixth in the league. Toronto's rebounding numbers have been up and down, but the Raptors crashed the glass on Wednesday when they out-rebounded the Bucks 50-29.
While we can't expect a showing quite as dominant as that one on a nightly basis, we can reasonably expect Toronto to stay competitive with a strong Philly frontcourt. It is, after all, the key to beating the Sixers given the presence of Joel Embiid down low and a forward like Tobias Harris, who loves to score inside.
The Raptors should have a roster close to full strength on Thursday. Precious Achiuwa will likely miss another game, and there is a chance Otto Porter Jr. may not play on the second night of a back-to-back, but the impact of these injuries shouldn't be too significant.
Toronto nearly kept all of its starters under 30 minutes last night thanks to the blowout win, and while Pascal Siakam eclipsed that mark, he played just 33 minutes and should have plenty left in the tank for a big game in Philly.
The Raptors defense ranks ninth in Defensive Rating through the first week of the season. The Raptors will look to keep this one relatively close in a low-scoring game by leaning on Poeltl down low. If the Raptors can also get some favorable shooting variance from Gradey Dick and Gary Trent Jr., they could pull a second straight upset in as many nights.
Raptors vs 76ers Picks, Odds
| Away Team Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+8.5 -108 | 227.5 -111o / -110u | +185 |
| Home Team Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-8.5 -112 | 227.5 -111o / -110u | -225 |
The Raptors may have been an unexciting 6-5-1 against the spread on the second night of back-to-back games last season. However, that team was led by Fred VanVleet and Nick Nurse, who are now both gone.
We don't really know how the Raptors under Rajakovic will perform on no rest, but the only time they played a back-to-back so far this season, they lost by seven in what was a great performance against the Sixers.
Toronto closed strong with 28 points in the fourth quarter as it outscored Philly by five, and if not for a flat third quarter, the Raptors may have won that game. Siakam and Scottie Barnes played over 36 minutes, and Dick was a huge contributor off the bench.
Toronto has every chance here to steal this game on the road, and while Philly was excellent as a home favorite last year, the books are hesitant to come around on the Raptors.
There's still a week or two where we can get some value out of this upstart Raptors group, and this is a prime spot to do so. I'll take Toronto on the spread down to +7.5.
