I was incorrect on my last Raptors free tip as the Raptors (-12) were upended by the Knicks in New York 103-98 on Saturday. I am now 20-25 in Raptors free tips. Tonight the 37-22 Toronto Raptors travel to Philadelphia to tip off with the 13-46 76ers.
(37-22) Toronto Raptors @ (13-46) Philadelphia 76ers
Probable starting line-ups:
Toronto – PG – Greivis Vasquez SG – DeMar DeRozan C – Jonas Valanciunas SF – James Johnson PF – Amir Johnson
Philadelphia – Point Guard – Isaiah Canaan Shooting Guard – Jason Richardson Center – Henry Sims Small Forward – L. Mbah a Moute Power Forward – Nerlens Noel
Stats Leaders:
Toronto – PPG – Kyle Lowry 18.0 RPG – Jonas Valanciunas 8.8 APG – Kyle Lowry 7.0
Philadelphia – Points Per Game – Tony Wroten 16.9 Rebounds Per Game – Thomas Robinson 8.0 Assists Per Game – Tim Frazier 7.2
Team Scoring: (with league ranking in parentheses)
Toronto – PF – 104.3 (5th) PA – 100.5 (20th)
Philadelphia – Points For (Per Game) – 90.1 (30th) Points Against (Per Game) – 100.6 (21st)
Overview:
The Toronto Raptors have dropped 5 games in a row. On Saturday they were surprised by the Knicks in New York 103-98. Backup shooting guard Louis Williams led the team in scoring with 22 points on 6 of 16 shooting in 33 minutes. He was 8 of 9 from the free throw line. Center Jonas Valanciunas scored 16 points on 6 of 8 shooting in 28 minutes. He also had 8 rebounds. Power forward James Johnson netted 14 points on 6 of 11 shooting in 33 minutes. He also had 7 rebounds. Point guard Greivis Vasquez contributed with 14 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds. He was 5 of 13 from the field in 34 minutes. He was 4 of 9 from the 3 point line. Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan chipped in with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists. He was a miserable 3 of 15 from the field and 7 of 8 from the foul line in 40 minutes. The team shot 42% from the field, 27.6% from the 3 point line (8-29), and 78.6% from the free throw line (22-28). They were out-rebounded 44-40. The Raptors were outscored 22-15 in the opening period. Toronto is 16-12 on the road this season. Including tonight they play 4 of their next 5 games on the road. Their next game is Wednesday at home versus Cleveland.
The Philadelphia 76ers have lost 6 of their last 7 games. Last night they were defeated 94-74 at Indiana. Small forward Robert Covington scored 12 points on 5 of 11 shooting in 24 minutes. Backup point guard Ish Smith netted 11 points on 5 of 13 shooting in 25 minutes. Center Nerlens Noel had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. He was 2 of 8 from the field and 6 of 6 from the foul line in 35 minutes. Shooting guard Jason Richardson contributed with 10 points on 4 of 12 shooting in 26 minutes. The team shot 34.5% from the field, 20.8% from the 3 point line (5-24), and 64.7% from the free throw line (11-17). They were out-rebounded 53-47. The Sixers only managed to score 28 points in the 2nd half and were out-scored 21-10 in the 4th quarter. Philadelphia is at home this season. Tonight is the 2nd game of a back to back. They are 4-11 in the 2nd game of a back to back so far this season. Their next game is Wednesday at Oklahoma City.
Toronto was victorious in their first 3 meetings with Philadelphia this season. On November 9th the Raptors cruised to a 120-88 home win, on January 14th the Raptors secured a 100-84 home win, and on January 23rd the Raptors held on for a 91-86 win over the 76ers in Philadelphia. The Raptors have won 7 straight meetings with the Sixers. Tonight is the last meeting of the season between the 2 teams.
Prediction:
The Raptors need a pick me up here quickly as they are mired in a 5 game losing skid. The 76ers compete hard but they are young and lack the experience and talent to be effective. 8 of the Sixers’ last 11 losses have been by a margin of 11 or more points. Take the Raptors -9 (1.86) (Bet365)
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