Pascal Siakam and the Toronto Raptors will travel to the city of Brotherly Love on Thursday night to play Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. These two teams played each other last week in Toronto, where the Sixers won 114-107 behind excellent performances from Tyrese Maxey (34 points, six rebounds, seven assists) and Embiid.
The Raptors snapped their three-game losing streak on Wednesday night after defeating the Bucks 130-111. Siakam led the way with 26 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. However, Toronto also got contributions from Scottie Barnes (21 points, 12 rebounds and five assists) and Dennis Schroder (24 points, 11 assists and four rebounds), who had 20-point double-doubles.
Meanwhile, the Sixers are coming off a 126-98 blowout win in their home opener against the Portland Trail Blazers last Sunday. Embiid had 35 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists, and six blocks in 29 minutes of action.
Can the Raptors learn from their mistakes last week and take down the Sixers? Or will we see another masterclass from Embiid and Maxey?
If you’re looking to bet on this game, FanDuel Sportsbook has an amazing promotional offer. New users that sign up with the link below and wager $5 will receive $150 in bonus bets – if their wager wins – and three months free of NBA League Pass!
Raptors vs. Sixers odds, spread and total
Raptors vs. Sixers how to watch
- Date: Thursday, Nov. 2
- Game Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
- Venue: Wells Fargo Center
- How to Watch (TV): NBA TV
- Raptors Record: 2-3
- Sixers Record: 2-1
Raptors vs. Sixers injury reports
Toronto Raptors injury report
- Injury report not released
Philadelphia 76ers injury report
- Nicolas Batum (out, personal reasons)
Raptors vs. Sixers key players to watch
Toronto Raptors
Scottie Barnes: The former Rookie of the Year award winner has taken his game to another level to start the season. Barnes is averaging 20.8 points, 10 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 2.4 blocks in 35.6 minutes per game. He’s also shooting an efficient 51.9% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range.
Barnes has scored 20 points in four straight games, including last Saturday’s game against the Sixers. The 22-year-old forward had 24 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks as the Raptors lost by seven points.
Dennis Schroder: The veteran point guard had a fantastic outing on Wednesday night against the Bucks, notching his third double-double this season. The Raptors are looking for Schroder to fill in the void left by Fred VanVleet, who signed with the Rockets in the offseason.
Thus far, he’s doing a great job, averaging 16.2 points and 9.2 assists per game. Schroder is also shooting 44.6% from the field and 50% percent from 3-point range. With it being the second night of a back-to-back for the Raptors, they will need a 20-point effort from the vet as he tries to outduel Maxey.
Philadelphia 76ers
Tyrese Maxey: The 22-year-old point guard looks poised to take that next step, which is great news for the Sixers and their fans. Maxey was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week after his tremendous start to the regular season. The former first-round pick is averaging 30.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game.
In the three games the Sixers have played this season, Maxey has scored 30 or more points twice. With Philadelphia trading James Harden to the Clippers on Tuesday, they sent a clear sign that Maxey is their starting point guard and co-star next to Embiid.
Kelly Oubre: Oubre has provided the Sixers a nice scoring boost off the bench, and with P.J. Tucker off to Los Angeles, he will be in the starting lineup going forward. The 27-year-old has played outstanding to start the season, scoring 19 points per game on 50% shooting from the field and 31.3% from 3-point range.
When the Sixers played the Raptors last weekend, Oubre had 18 points, five rebounds and two assists. If he can have a similar statline as a starter tonight, that will be a nice boost for Philly’s starting lineup.
Sixers vs. Raptors prediction and pick
The Sixers enter tonight’s game as 8.5-point favorites, which makes sense as we just saw them defeat Toronto last weekend. The Raptors are playing the second game of a back-to-back and their third game in the past four days. It will be interesting to see how much they have in the tank for tonight’s contest.
Toronto has proven to be one of the better defensive teams in the league, holding opponents to 104.4 points (sixth in the Association). However, the Raptors are still trying to find their footing offensively, scoring 105.6 points per game (24th in the NBA). They are also ranked 29th in pace (97.3).
The Sixers aren’t playing at a faster pace (99.2 – 21st in the NBA) than the Raptors, but they are ranked within the top 15 in ORtg (120) and DRtg (108.5). Philadelphia is 3-0 against the spread this season, while the Raptors are 3-2 ATS. The logical play is for the Sixers to cover the spread, but I’ll take the OVER 215.5 on the total.
—
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.