The slumping Philadelphia 76ers are hoping for better luck on the road in Tuesday’s Eastern Conference showdown with the Toronto Raptors. Philly kicked off the first part of the doubleheader by dropping their fourth consecutive road loss to the Raptors on Sunday. It marked Toronto’s fourth-straight victory in a run where they’ve also defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves and swept the Milwaukee Bucks in a previous doubleheader on the road.
Road woes continue for Philly
If the Raptors would let Philly paint the Sixers logo in the middle of the floor on Tuesday night, it would drastically increase the Sixers chances of winning.No, I’m not kidding.
The Sixers have the best home record in the Eastern Conference (13-2), while surprisingly falling to 7-9 on the road in Sunday’s loss to the Raptors.
Even in a game where Ben Simmons dropped a team-high 28 points, the Sixers still couldn’t win on the road. It marked their fourth-straight loss within a six-game span.
They’ll need more help from their bench if they have any hope of turning things around in the second part of the doubleheader. Unless Joel Embiid can add another otherworldly performance to his resume, the Sixers aren’t beating this red-hot Raptors team with the bench only contributing 16 points. But such has been the case throughout the season for a Philly team averaging only 110.6 points per game on the road.
It’s a real problem that doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon.
Toronto’s defense is also a problem that isn’t going away. They have held their last three opponents to an average 39.1 percent shooting. So yes, they’re locking everyone up.
The Sixers know a thing or two about great defense when they’re at home. However, let’s see if it can finally translate on the road against a Raptors team growing more confident after every outing.
Raptors looking a fifth-straight win
The Raptors have been one of the biggest teases all season.There are times when they spring to life and actually look like a team on the rise more so than a roster in rapid decline. They have clearly looked exceptional in their recent four-game stretch by sweeping the Bucks in a previous doubleheader, handling business at Minnesota and knocking off the Sixers on Sunday.
Can they keep their foot on the gas?
That all depends on the resurging Pascal Siakam. Yes, Fred VanVleet is amazing, and Chris Boucher has been an exceptional contributor, along with Norman Powell and OG Anunoby. And we all know what Kyle Lowry (out) brings to the table when he’s healthy and on the floor.
But success for the Raptors is dependent on Siakam developing into a star. He was the reason why the Raptors passed on the idea of bringing Paul George to Toronto and potentially setting up the Kawhi Leonard-led super duo.
He dropped 23 points and helped the Raptors lock things down on defense in Sunday’s outing against the Sixers. The team will need another two-way effort to keep Philly down in the second half of the doubleheader.
They aren’t scoring a ton of points, but they’re holding opponents to an average 106.9 points per game. That defensive effort has carried them to four straight wins, and it’s the only thing capable of carrying them to a fifth against a Sixers team that looks shook on the road.
Team Trends
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The top supporting trends for this game, found on Covers.com, are:
- 76ers are 3-7-1 ATS in their last 11 Tuesday games.
- 76ers are 13-36-2 ATS in their last 51 road games.
- 76ers are 6-20-1 ATS in their last 27 road games against a team with a winning home record.
- 76ers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Raptors are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up win.
- Raptors are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog.
- Raptors are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
- Raptors are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 after allowing 100 points or more in their previous game.
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