The Toronto Raptors host a Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers squad on Friday night.
The pregame narrative: Toronto had a rough season opener but should cover an alternate spread with Embiid and Paul George sidelined. Back Scottie Barnes on the glass and Kelly Oubre Jr. from deep to round out this +300 ticket.
Check out my 76ers vs. Raptors same-game parlay predictions for Oct. 25.
76ers vs. Raptors predictions
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Parlay: Raptors +8.5 + Barnes over 7.5 rebounds + Oubre over 1.5 threes (+300)
Raptors +9.5 (-250): Philadelphia has championship aspirations, but it won’t win anything if Embiid and George don’t play. Those two will return to the lineup at some point (Embiid is aiming for Oct. 30), but until then, I’ll happily fade.
The Sixers got blown out, 124-109, by the Bucks in Milwaukee in their season opener, shooting a collective 41.8% from the field and 25.8% from deep.
They’re now 16-28 without Embiid since the start of last season with a -3.7 net rating, according to Stat Muse.
The Raptors are a bad team but this should be a game they keep close. Barnes shot 3-of-14 from the field on Wednesday against a tough Cleveland Cavaliers defence and was pulled from the game early in a blowout.
All we need is for him to avoid another disastrous performance so that this can be within reach.
SGP legs
Barnes over 7.5 rebounds (+102): Barnes collected six rebounds in 26 minutes two days ago and would’ve been right around this number had he gotten a regular workload.
The Cavs don’t give up much on defence or on the glass, but the Sixers are a different story — especially without their MVP candidate in the lineup.
Philadelphia ranked 14th in road defensive rating last year and 25th in road rebounding rate.
Barnes is coming off a season in which he averaged a career-best 8.2 boards per game, going over this mark in two of three games against the Sixers with seven rebounds in the outlier.
Oubre over 1.5 threes (-205): One of the many things Toronto did horribly in its opener was a failure to defend the 3-point line. Cleveland shot 14-of-30 (46.7%) from beyond the arc, with four players bagging multiple threes.
Oubre is the No. 2 option right now and I expect him to act like it. The guard’s 18 shots against the Bucks were second to Tyrese Maxey, and while he only went 1-for-6 from deep, the volume is encouraging.
Toronto gave up the fifth-most 3-pointers per game to shooting guards last year, according to Fantasy Pros.
Picks made at 8:55 a.m. on 10/25/24.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.