The Philadelphia 76ers are looking to avenge their loss from Monday to the Toronto Raptors, as the two teams play for the second time in three days.
Catch this game live on Wednesday, February 24, at 8:30, Manila time
HOME TEAM: Toronto Raptors (16-15, 7-6 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Fred VanVleet
- SG: Norman Powell
- SF: OG Anunoby
- SF: DeAndre’ Bembry
- PF: Pascal Siakam
The Raptors are oozing with confidence right now, which is understandable since they recently just defeated the Milwaukee Bucks twice in three days and the Sixers at home last Monday, 110-103.
That’s four wins in a row now for Toronto, which is 9-6 against the spread this season in games after a straight-up victory. Despite taking fewer shots and getting outrebounded in the Sixers game, the Raptors found a way to win, mostly through their efficient offense. Toronto shot nearly 50 FG% and hit more threes than Philly, 14-11.
Defensively, they held Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid to a combined 12-of-37 shooting from the floor. The bench will play a crucial role for the Raptors in the rematch against the Sixers., considering that Toronto’s second unit had 35 points to just 16 by Philadelphia’s relievers.
Chris Boucher had 17 points (5-5 3FGM) off the bench while playing stout defense against Embiid. The Raptors are eighth in the NBA today with 110.3 points allowed per game.
Kyle Lowry is questionable to play Wednesday, but the Raptors are 17-0 in their last 17 games without him.
ROAD TEAM: Philadelphia 76ers (20-11, 7-9 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Ben Simmons
- SG: Seth Curry
- SF: Danny Green
- PF: Tobias Harris
- C: Joel Embiid
Just when the Sixers were regaining momentum after back-to-back wins over the Houston Rockets and the Chicago Bulls, both at home, they got tripped up by the Raptors on Monday.
The loss certainly was not because of a lack of effort from either Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. Simmons had 28 points on 9-of-11 shooting to go with nine rebounds, and five assists, while Embiid scored 25 points with 17 rebounds. However, Embiid shot just 6 of 20, making up instead with several trips to the foul line.
The Raptors played physical basketball with Embiid, who went 12 of 14 from the foul line. Unless the Raptors play him rough again, there seems to be not much of a chance that Embiid will be consistently contained by the Raptors.
Embiid is the single biggest reason why the Sixers are No. 1 in the NBA in free-throw attempts (27.2) and free-throws made (21.3) per game. Those looking to bet on the Sixers can feel encouraged by the fact that Philly has a winning record (5-4) against the spread in games following a loss.
PREDICTIONS:
Joel Embiid will rebound with a dominant effort, scoring at least 25 points to lead the Sixers to a 115-110 win over the Raptors.
