The Philadelphia 76ers will try again. After striking out in their first game under Nick Nurse, the Sixers will look for their first win of the season when they fly to Nurse’s old stomping grounds. The Toronto Raptors, on the other hand, will seek to get another win this season — at the expense of their former head coach’s new team.
Catch this game live on Sunday, October 29, 2023 at 7:30 AM, Manila time
Away: Philadelphia 76ers (0-1/0-1 Away)
Projected Starting Five:
- Tyrese Maxey
- De’Anthony Melton
- Tobias Harris
- P.J. Tucker
- Joel Embiid
Although they turned out to be the first victims of Milwaukee Dame Time during a 118-117 road loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, the Sixers deserve some respect for being able to hang with Damian Lillard and company despite missing James Harden. One positive takeaway for the Sixers from that loss was the play of Kelly Oubre Jr., who blew up for 27 points on 9/11 shooting off the bench.
Oubre can see a ton of opportunities again this Sunday, with Harden not with the team during this current Philly road trip. Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, meanwhile, are completely different problems for Toronto, which might not have the legs to keep up with the Sixers stars after having just played the night before. Those two love playing against the Raptors. Last season, Maxey averaged 29.3 points on 65.3 FG% in three games versus Toronto, while Embiid put up 28.0 points on 54.3 FG% in three games opposite Toronto. Of course, there’s also the factor of Nurse’s deep familiarity with many of the Raptors’ players.
Home: Toronto Raptors (1-1/1-0 Home)
Projected Starting Five:
- Dennis Schroder
- O.G. Anunoby
- Scottie Barnes
- Pascal Siakam
- Jakob Poeltl
That 2-0 start to the season was so close for the Raptors, but they instead settled for a 1-1 record through two games after losing to the Chicago Bulls via overtime on the road on Saturday, 104-103. The Raptors will now look to pick the pieces when they take out their passports again and play at home to end the week. Toronto won its season opener at home last Thursday over the Minnesota Timberwolves, 97-94.
The Raptors, who have won eight of their last 10 home games since the 2022-23 NBA season, were slowed down in the Bulls game by their poor ball security, losing the possession 21 times. They also shot just 9/36 from deep and only 16/25 from the free-throw line. Those aren’t exactly encouraging signs for Toronto, but then again, they lost by just a point to the Bulls despite those embarrassing shooting splits on top of the turnovers. They have only played two games so far this season, but the Raptors have been shining on defense, as evidenced by the fact that they are No. 1 in the league with 94.3 points allowed per 100 possessions.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: The Sixers (-4.0) cover the spread.
Over/Under: The total (216.0) hits the Under.