NBA Betting – Philadelphia 76ers at Toronto Raptors

One winning streak will come to an end when Atlantic Division rivals Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors meet north of the border on Wednesday night in the first game of an ESPN doubleheader. Both clubs enter having won four straight games to keep things tight in the middle of the Eastern Conference standings. Five teams are separated by 2.5 games, but they’re all battling for second-place with the Bucks running away from the pack. The Raps are also going for their 15th straight regular season home win over the Sixers.  Claim Your Welcome Bonus From Bookmaker Here

Philadelphia 76ers at Toronto Raptors

Date and Time: Wednesday, January 22, 2020, 7 p.m. ET

Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON

Opening NBA Odds: Toronto -5.5, O/U 217

76ers at Raptors TV Coverage: ESPN

Odds Analysis

The teams have protected home court in the series with each winning a game on its own floor. It’s the Sixers who need to do some figuring out, though. They haven’t won in the Great White North in over seven years, and they came up empty in November with Toronto getting the 101-96 win and cover. The road hasn’t been kind to the Sixers this season winning just nine of 23 away from home while going 8-14-1 ATS. They’ve played better of late, though, winning two straight on the road for the first time since taking three in a row to open the season. Toronto got its roster intact and rattled off four straight wins going 3-1 ATS while averaging 128.5 points per game to cash the over in all four outings.

Philadelphia 76ers

Most of the losses during the current losing streak in Toronto took place when Philly was trusting the process. Even since the process has been complete they haven’t been able emerge victorious. Since the 2017-18 season when the Sixers became relevant again, they’ve gone 0-5 SU and ATS in Toronto during the regular season. This will be their first test in about a week after a break in the schedule helped them break out of their funk.

The four wins during the current streak came over Brooklyn twice, New York and Chicago, three teams with a combined .351 winning percentage. Credit the Sixers for winning the games they needed to and getting the last two on the road. And they did it without Joel Embiid, who remains out of the lineup after surgery on his hand. That won’t be a big loss in this game since the last time Philly played in Toronto the big fella was 0 of 11 from the field and didn’t score a point. The Sixers have managed to get by without Embiid, who averages 23.4 points and 12.3 rebounds per game.

Since Embiid exited the lineup the Sixers are 5-2 SU and 4-3 ATS. The point total in their 117-111 win over the Nets on Monday matched the highest in that span. Others players have picked up the slack, notably Ben Simmons, who had a monster game with 34 points, 12 assists and 12 rebounds to bury the Nets. With Embiid out Simmons is averaging 21.3 points, more than five points per game above his season average.

Toronto Raptors

Take a bunch of starters and points out of you lineup and bad things are bound to happen. Toronto went 11 games without leading scorer Pascal Siakam, fourth-leading scorer Norman Powell, and Marc Gasol. The Raptors were able to keep their heads above water winning six times during that stretch. Then they watched starter Fred VanVleet hit the shelf for a handful of games. Injuries happen, they just aren’t supposed to happen all at once.

And guess what? Injuries heal. Once the Raptors got healthy so did their victory total. With Siakam, Powell and Gasol all back in the lineup the Raps started a run of four straight victories by taking down OKC, 130-121, with the trio combining for 59 points. VanVleet returned from a five-game absence a few nights later and the circle was complete. The Raps knocked off Minnesota 122-112 with VanVleet making 7 of 8 three-pointers for 29 points.

The time off did wonders for the group. Toronto scored at least 122 points in the four wins averaging 128.5 in that stretch. Powell scored 17 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter of Monday’s 122-117 win over Atlanta and has scored 20 or more in every game since his return. Gasol is averaging 13.3 points since coming back and is 11 of 21 on three-pointers. The starting backcourt of VanVleet and Kyle Lowry combined to go 7 of 22 from the field on Monday and the Raptors still secured the victory.

Bet 76ers at Raptors at BookMaker.eu

Both teams are playing well coming in, but it’s the Raptors that have a healthy and active roster. That’s something I wouldn’t have said two weeks ago. Without Embiid it’s going to be tough for the Sixers to win this game. They defeated lesser opponents without him, but the Sixers aren’t playing the Knicks or Bulls this time. The Raps’ balance will be critical in them securing a cover win.

NBA Score Prediction: Toronto 120, Philadelphia 112

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