Raptors vs. 76ers NBA Playoffs Game 2 Picks and Odds Breakdown (Archive)
The Philadelphia 76ers took care of business with a 20 blowout of the Raptors. They come into tonight’s game as big home favorites which is understandable with the way they’ve been playing in the last few weeks.
Toronto has some injury issues but has been competitive with the Sixers during the regular season so let’s break this game down to see who will cover tonight. Let’s see what the NBA odds for this matchup tell us!
Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Monday, April 18, 2022 – 07:30 PM EDT at Wells Fargo Center
Toronto Needs Better Defensive Performance
There's no way the Raptors can compete in this series with another defensive performance like they had in Game 1.
They allowed a Sixers team that averages 109.9 points per game to put up 131 in the series opener.
The Raptors are a top ten defense and their offense simply isn't consistent enough that they can allow Philly to score above their average.
Tonight the Sixers are -7.5-point home favorites at most of the top online sportsbooks.
Philadelphia has not been good against the spread (ATS) as home favorites with a 14-18 record. On the flip side, Toronto is 15-12 ATS as road underdogs.
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This is a big spread but it is understandable considering the way the Sixers have been playing lately combined with Toronto's injury problem.
Rookie Scottie Barnes twisted his ankle and is doubtful for this game. Barnes is a finalist for Rookie of the Year candidate and is very important to this Raptors team.
He scored 15 points on only 6 shots by getting to the line 9 times. His aggressive play also saw him get a double-double with 10 rebounds and he also led Toronto in assists with 8 on the night.
Without him in the lineup, the Raptors' offense will need someone to step with a big performance tonight.
Sixers Can Seize Control of Series
The Sixers did what they were supposed to do in Game 1 which was held at home court.
What they also accomplished was sending a message to the Raptors that what happened in the regular season doesn't count here.
Toronto has the 3-1 series edge in the regular season but there was no evidence of that on Saturday night.
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During those four regular-season games, the Raptors held the Sixers to an average of 106.3 points per game.
Obviously, the first game didn't go according to plan, at least on the defensive end.
This isn't a must-win game but two things are clear; Toronto can't get blown out again and to win the series, they will need to win at least once in Philadelphia.
With that in mind, another blowout could make a sweep more likely than a Toronto win in this series.
While I don't think Toronto has what it takes to win the series, especially with Barnes injured, I do expect them to compete.
The total for this game opened at 220.5 and has been steamed down to 217. My official play for tonight is on the under 217 (-105) which is available at BetOnline.
The season series averaged 215.3 points per game and I think we could see fewer points than that.
The Sixers are unlikely to shoot 50% from three again tonight and I don't expect the Raptors to foul as much as they did in the last game.
Philadelphia made more free throws (29) than Toronto attempted (23). All of these factors led to a game that was way more high-scoring than what we should see tonight.
NBA Pick: Under 217 (-105) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
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