It’s not often that oddsmakers will tab the Philadelphia 76ers as an underdog at Wells Fargo Arena but for Game 3 vs the Toronto Raptors, sportsbooks have done just that. The Sixers opened as 1.5-point dogs tonight and in the two instances they weren’t favored during the season vs the Warriors and Bucks, Philly lost both games. The Raptors have yet to lose on the road in the playoffs and split their two games at Philadelphia during the regular season although the loss was without Kawhi Leonard.
STANDOUT STATS
- The Raptors have not been shooting well from behind the arc in this series. In two games, the Raptors are 19 for 64 (29 percent) with Danny Green being the biggest culprit with a 2 for 10 stat line from three-point range. The Sixers are ranked third in opponent three-point percentage in the playoffs (31.6 percent) and only allowed teams to shoot 34.9 percent from three in home games during the regular season.
- Jimmy Butler was a difference-maker for the Sixers in Game 2 with 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. He has been a Raptor killer in his career as he averages 19.8 points, five rebounds and five assists in 20 games. However, since he’s joined the Sixers, he is averaging two fewer points per home game albeit on 48 percent shooting.
- Although he finished 4 for 10 from behind the arc, Kawhi Leonard has not been the reason for the Raptors’ woes. In two games of the series, Leonard has scored 80 points and has shot 29 for 47 from the field (61 percent). 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 28.7 percent of their shots, which is last amongst all remaining playoff teams. That being said, they’ve slightly improved that mark in this series by hitting 21 of their 67 shots from behind the arc (31 percent) and were able to beat the Raptors in Game 2 despite being outshot 90-76 from the field.
- The Raptors have been controlling the painted area through two games and have outscored them 86-78 down low and that’s mainly due to the health of Joel Embiid. The big man has been limping for most of the playoffs and while he played more than 30 minutes in both games of the series, he’s only managed 28 points and 14 rebounds total.
- 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 6 of their 7 playoff games (avg. combined score: 196.8) and none of their games have exceeded 215 pts.
My Best Bet For Raptors vs Sixers
Raptors -1.5
I went back and forth but opted to go with the Raptors because I’m still not solid that Joel Embiid is healthy enough to be the difference in this game. The Sixers’ three-point shooting is such a glaring issue for their offense that I find it hard to envision them all of a sudden hitting 40 percent of their attempts from behind the arc to seal this game. I expect the Raptors’ defense to adjust and make periphery players like James Ennis or Jonah Bolden have to beat them. At this spread, this game is essentially a pick’em so I’ll opt with the better team to steal Game 3.
