Game Time: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, April 17th, 2022 

Venue:   Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Where to Watch: TNT 

DraftKings:  Spread: 76ers -6.5; O/U 218

Fanduel:  Spread:  76ers -6.5; O/U 218

BetMGM:  Spread: 76ers -6.5; O/U 219.5

Raptors: 48-34 on the season, 5th place Eastern Conference

Sixers: 51-31 on the season, 4th place Eastern Conference

An NBA Eastern Conference  Round 1 - Game 2 Playoff Matchup between the 5th and 4th seeds. Neither of these teams were forced to play a Play-In game to be here… but the horror of finishing in the middle of the Playoff pack is that the team you will face is not much different than you are.  The Raptors ended the season after a slow start just 3 wins behind the Sixers.  Those three wins are why coaches go nuts in November and players don’t understand why… The wins end up being very important.  The Raptors have a sneaky advantage… They play home games in Canada where a starter for the Sixers MAY NOT GO… because he didn’t finish getting vaccinated.  Matisse Thybulle is a young player (20th pick 2019) and therefore there is a natural amount of stupidity to be expected. I only say that because the Sixer got the first shot… It wasn’t a political or conspiracy theory stand.. HE GOT THE FIRST SHOT… just not the second.  No matter where you fall between intelligence and anti-vaxx… that particular stand is rotten.  The Raptors also have been on a strong upswing since a slow start to the season. They seemed to need to figure each other out this season. The team has two stars in PG Fred VanVleet and PF Pascal Siakam… but they all had to deal with that their best player of the future has arrived in the form of SF/SG/PG/ Scottie Barnes.  Scottie is so good as a rookie that by year 3 he will need his own Scottie ( a Pippen joke). The Sixers have ridden C Joel Embiid for seemingly 5 straight years.  Sure he gets injured from time to time.. He gets surly when pressed… but he is an otherworldly talent!  He played this year like the MVP and the results are down to the wire.  The Sixers finally were able to make a trade of Ben Simmons and some pieces and got SG James Harden in return.  The Sixers have two stars!  Two MVP quality stars.  The guys in Toronto will need a great Center to match up with Joel Embiid… but they don’t even have a real Center on the roster.

Game 2 of the Eastern Conference first round NBA Playoff series will have very little mystery.  In Game 1 the Philadelphia 76ers trounced the Toronto Raptors 131-111.  The Sixers Got good games but not Big games out of C Joel Embiid and SG James Harden… instead they got Big Games out of PG Tyrese Maxey and PF Tobias Harris.  That highlights how badly overmatched the Toronto Raptors are.  The Raptors have no true Center on the roster.  Their tallest player is PF Chris Boucher who has been placed in a triumvirate of undersized, out of position players trying to “handle” Embiid defensively.  The stress of doubling Embiid and sliding to help on Embiid has opened up the entire floor for the rest of the Sixers… Harden, Maxey, and Harris are perfectly capable of scoring the basketball… even more so when so much effort is being badly put into trying to stop Embiid.  An awful development going into Game 2 for the Raptors is that their super rookie Scottie Barnes suffered an ankle sprain (possibly more when x-rays and imagining comes back)... If Scottie misses a game, multiple games, the rest of the Playoffs… Then Toronto is more cooked than they already are.  That 6.5 Point Spread is looking mighty Philadelphia friendly.  Let’s look closely at the numbers…. And then do what we already know is the best way to grow our bankrolls.  

The Toronto Raptors lost game 1 of this Playoff series… it was also obviously a loss ATS.  THe Raptors starters put up a valiant fight… but had nowhere near enough defensive tricks against Philly.  SF Scottie Barnes had 15 pts, 10 rbs, and 8 asts… before he was forced to leave the game with an ankle injury.  The rookie was easily on pace for a triple double in his first ever playoff game.  Look forward to many future years of Scottie as the Toronto star.  PF Pascal Siakam had 24 pts and was stretched way too thin by trying to defend Embiid, Forward OG Anunoby had 20 pts, PG Fred Van Vleet had 18 pts… The starters did their job admirably… but the bench contributed little.  Backups PF Khem Birch, PF Chris Boucher, and PF Precious Anchiuwa combined for a -19 +/- rating… This team will be on the lookout for a Center and their first order of business has to be picking which TWO of those three will be moved in deals this offseason.

The Philadelphia 76ers won game 1 of this Playoff Series… it was obviously a win ATS.  Joel Embiid had 19 pts, 15 rbs, James Harden had 22 pts, 14 asts… Great double doubles.  The big offensive numbers however came from rookie PG Tyrese Maxey who had 38 points with 5 for 8 3 pointers.  That trio got help from the often forgotten Sixer SF Tobias Harris who scored 26 points on 9 of 14 shooting.  The writing for Game 2 is on the wall… If Harden and Embiid now have Big Games because Toronto tries to stop Maxey and Harris… we have entered a true no-win situation.  Philly played normal starting SF Matisse Thybulle only 18 minutes… that was deliberate.  They want the team to get used to not playing with Thybulle when they get to Toronto, where the unvaccinated Thybulle can not join.  Expect Thybulle to get even less minutes in Game 2.  The way game 1 played out and the injury to Scottie Barnes is building a strong case for a quick series in Philly’s favor.

Now this has gotten OUT OF HAND! Power Sports is an absolutely *INSANE* 16-3 L19 in NBA after cashing the Under in BOTH games on Friday! He was 4-1 overall in the play-in tournament + he's hitting a STUPENDOUS 67% OVERALL (38-19) in the month of April! That's a $16,600 profit! What are you waiting for? The time to subscribe is NOW! Go get it! Get Power Sports’ picks!  Stay with us all throughout the NBA Playoffs and let’s grow that bankroll! You can discover the best  picks right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers. NCAAF, NFL, MLB, college football… get positive value from all your bets! Expert picks!  Fun fact… winning a wager is much better than making a wager!

The Raptors are 48-35 on the season, but 47-36 ATS.  They have logged 42 Overs and 41 Unders.  They are 24-18 in road games.

The Sixers are 52-31 on the season, but 38-43-2 ATS.  They have notched 39 Overs, 412 Unders, and 3 Push.  They are 25-17 in home games.

The Raptors are 20th in scoring with 109.4 ppg, 8th in rebounds with 45.3, and 17th in AST/TO ratio with 1.8.  On defense they rank 7th while holding opponents to 107.1 ppg on average.

The Sixers are 18th in scoring with 109.9 ppg, 29th in 42.3 per game, and 8th in AST/TO ratio with 1.9.  On defense they rank 8th while holding opponents to 107.3 ppg.

Our prediction for Monday, April 18th is….. 76ers 132 - Raptors 110

Look forward to another big blowout win by the Sixers.  The Raptors took some lumps in the form of an injury to Scottie Barnes, an injury to Khen Birch, and an injury to Thaddeus Young… They will all be listed as “questionable”... but in no good conscience will the play Scottie if he still has any pain.  That is too much of a risk long term for their best young player since VC.

Don't miss our champion handicappers' Free NBA Picks and Premium Selections every day here at Bigal.com. Just click on Shop Picks for our Best Bets, or click on Shop Subscriptions to join for a week or a month.  And if you enjoyed this Raptors/Sixers review, be sure to bookmark Bigal.com for our daily Game Previews and Predictions.  Get help with all your college football picks, National Football league, NCAA brackets, or any prop bets on your season schedule. 

Toronto is 67-43 ATS versus Philly since 1996.

Toronto is 34-19 ATS versus Philly at Philly since 1996.

Philly is 10-3 ATS when playing 4 or less games in 10 days.

Philly is 6 Over and 1 Under in the last 7 games.

Raptors: C Khem Birch (head) Quest ** PF Thaddeus Young (thumb) Quest ** SF Scottie Barnes (ankle) Quest

Sixers: C Charles Bassey (shoulder) Quest

Raptors: SF OG Anunoby, PF Pascal Siakam, C Chris Boucher, PG Fred VanVleet, SG Gary Trent Jr

Sixers: SF Tobias Harris, PF Danny Green, C Joel Embiid, PG Tyrese Maxey, SG James Harden

Raptors: Nick Nurse

Sixers: Doc Rivers