76ers vs Raptors Prediction: Sixers too strong for Toronto

The Philadelphia 76ers welcome the Toronto Raptors to the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday evening (23:00 UK time).

The Sixers begin life post-James Harden after he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, along with Filip Petrusev and P.J. Tucker, in a complicated three-team deal that also included the Oklahoma City Thunder. Philadelphia acquired Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Kenyon Martin Jr. and Marcus Morris Sr. from the Clippers.

Meanwhile, the Raptors stunned everyone last time out when they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, snapping their three-game losing streak.

Team News

Tyrese Maxey is currently recovering from a hand injury for the hosts, while Marcus Morris, Robert Covington and Nic Batum are all questionable to feature here.

As for Toronto, Precious Achiuwa and Christian Koloko both missed the victory against the Bucks, and are questionable to feature on Thursday night.

Match Odds

The Sixers are 1/4 on the money line, while punters can back Toronto at 3/1.

The total points line is set at 216.5, and both the under and over are priced up at 10/11.

Philadelphia 76ers (-7.5) @ 4/5

Although the departure of James Harden could be seen as a big miss for many, he hasn't featured for Philadelphia this season and they've been doing just fine without him.

Joel Embiid, the reigning league MVP, will pose big problems for the Toronto defense, who I expect to be fatigued from the battle against the Bucks on Wednesday night.

These two sides have already met once this season, where the Sixers prevailed, and I expect the same outcome here.

Over 216.5 points @ 10/11

As I've mentioned above, the departure of Harden allows for fresh optimism among the Philly fans.

Tyrese Maxey has filled the void of Harden so far this season, elevating himself to the number 2 option behind Joel Embiid. He scored 34 points, along with Embiid, against Toronto a few nights ago, and if he features again here, I can see the pair causing havoc once again.

In addition, the over on the points total has landed in six of eight Philly games, including five of their last seven at home.

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