The Philadelphia 76ers will look to break a 13-game losing streak in Toronto on Saturday when they meet the Toronto Raptors in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Sixers have not won in Toronto since Nov. 10, 2012, but will look to buck that trend on Saturday in the 2019 NBA Playoffs. Philadelphia's Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons will play a prominent role in the outcome. In four games against the Raptors this season, Embiid averaged 26.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. Simmons, meanwhile, averaged 16.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto is favored by 6.5 in the latest Raptors vs. 76ers odds, up one from the opener, while the over-under for total points scored is 223 after dipping as low as 222. Before making any Raptors vs. Sixers picks of your own, consult the NBA predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, is crushing its NBA picks. It entered Week 28 of the 2018-19 NBA season with a sterling record on its top-rated picks, returning more than $3,500 in profit to anybody following them. And it has been particularly red-hot on its A-rated NBA money line picks, entering Week 28 on a strong 84-57 run. Anybody who has followed it is way up.
Now the model has honed in on Raptors vs. Sixers. We can tell you it is leaning Under, and it also says one side of the spread has all the value. That one is available only at SportsLine.
The model knows the Raptors went 3-0 against the Sixers this season when Kawhi Leonard was in the lineup. He averaged 30.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.7 assists in the three games he played. In addition, he played solid defense on Simmons, who averaged 8.0 turnovers in the three games Leonard played. Toronto also covered three of four games against the Sixers this season and have beaten the number in five of their last seven overall.
The model also knows that Toronto added Embiid-stopper Marc Gasol at the trade deadline. Even though the Raptors did not play the Sixers with Gasol, he faced Embiid five times while with the Grizzlies, holding him to 14.0 points per game on 34.4 percent shooting from the field. Embiid also averaged 4.4 turnovers per game against Gasol.
But just because the Raptors have had success against Philadelphia this season does not guarantee they will cover the Raptors vs. Sixers spread.
The four games against Toronto came before Philadelphia acquired Tobias Harris. In 27 games since joining the 76ers, Harris has averaged 18.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists. More importantly, it means either Harris or Simmons will not have to go up against Leonard.
Despite the three losses, the Sixers were one of two teams to shoot better than 70 percent in the restricted area against the Raptors this season. Embiid, Simmons and Jimmy Butler combined to shoot 57-for-77 (74 percent) in the restricted area.
So who wins Game 1 of 76ers vs. Raptors? And which side of the spread has all of the value? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the 76ers vs. Raptors spread you should be all over Saturday, all from the model that's up more than $3,500 on NBA picks this season.
