Toronto Raptors (48-34) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (51-31)
April 16, 2022 6:00 pm EDT
The Line: Philadelphia 76ers -4.5; Over/Under: -217.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Philadelphia 76ers play host to the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night.
The Toronto Raptors have been in a groove over the last five weeks as they’ve won 14 of their final 18 regular season games to finish with a 48-34 record, good enough for the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. Pascal Siakam led the team with 22.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, Fred VanVleet averaged 20.3 points and 6.7 assists per game, while Gary Trent Jr. averaged 18.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. As a team, the Raptors scored 109.4 points per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the field and 34.9 percent from the 3-point line.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers are coming into this series with plenty of momentum after winning five of their last six games to finish with a 51-31 overall record, which is good for the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference. Joel Embiid led the team with averages of 30.6 points, 11.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game, James Harden averaged 21.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 10.5 assists per game in the 21 games he played, Tyrese Maxey scored 17.5 points and 4.3 assists per game while Tobias Harris averaged 17.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. As a team, the 76ers scored 109.9 points per game while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from the 3-point line.
Looking at the betting trends, the Raptors are 7-2 ATS in their last nine road games, 26-9 ATS in their last 35 games against a team with a winning record and 2-6 ATS in their last eight games playing on three or more days’ rest. The 76ers are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 1-4 ATS in their last five games overall.
Head to head, the Raptors are 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings overall.
The Raptors are at full strength for this series except for Fred VanVleet who they will be keeping an eye on after he missed out the regular season finale. The 76ers will be relying heavily on the production of Embiid who has been so good all season, but he is going to need help from others like Harden and Harris as there will surely be plenty of double-teams in this series. The Raptors have already beaten the 76ers in three of four regular season meetings, but I think the 76ers draw first blood with a narrow win and cover at home.
