Channeling his inner basketball assassin, Kawhi Leonard is doing things in this postseason that haven’t been seen since the MJ days. Now, bettors and fans are counting on him to show up again when the Toronto Raptors host the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 5 tonight. Leonard is averaging an insane 38 points per game in this second-round series and the Raptors would likely have been swept already if he wasn’t on the floor.
The Raptors opened as 6-point favorites with a total of 211.5.
STANDOUT STATS
- Joel Embiid can make-or-break this series for the Sixers and his health will be a key factor going into Game 5. The big man only scored nine points on seven shots as the Raptors denied entry passes. Him and Ben Simmons only combined for 21 points in Game 4 and Simmons has been a complete no-show on offense in this series. The second-year point guard scored 14 points in Game 1 and his output has dropped in each game since.
- Outside of Game 4, first halves in this series have usually been decided by a large margin. The Sixers have led by double-digits in two of four games at the half while the Raptors had a double-digit lead in Game 1 at the break. Tonight’s first half spread is Raptors -3.5.
- The Sixers will likely try to double-team Kawhi Leonard tonight because he has been a one-man wrecking crew vs the Sixers. In four games of the series, Leonard is averaging 38 points per game and has shot 62 percent from the field and 48.6 percent from behind the arc. In three regular-season games vs the Sixers, Kawhi averaged 30.3 points per game while shooting 50 percent from behind the arc.
- Three-point shooting has not come easy for the Sixers in the postseason and they are only hitting 33.6 percent of their shots, which is last amongst all remaining playoff teams. The Raptors have also been terrible from behind the arc as they’re only averaging 33.7 percent on an average of 31.7 attempts. In Game 4, neither team shot particularly well and the Raptors have yet to shoot 35 percent or better from deep in this series.
- Outside of Game 5 vs Magic for the Raptors, the UNDER has been profitable for their games in the playoffs. The UNDER has hit in 8 of their 9 playoff games (avg. combined score: 198.4) and none of their games have exceeded 212 pts. Tonight’s total is at 211.5.
My Best Bet for Sixers vs Raptors
Raptors -3.5 First Half
I almost played the full game spread but I think the Raptors will come out strong in the first half and actually show some support for Kawhi Leonard this time around. The Raptors were one of the best three-point shooting teams in the last two months of the regular season and the fact that they haven’t broken out yet in these playoffs make me think they could be due for an offensive explosion. The only way the Raptors win this game is if Gasol and Lowry have another decent game shooting the basketball and I’m projecting that to come through.
