James Harden is gone, but the Philadelphia 76ers (2-1) haven’t missed a beat this season, and are coming off a dominant 126-98 win over the Trail Blazers. They’ll look to continue their strong start to the season when they welcome the Toronto Raptors (1-2) who are coming off a 130-111 win over the Bucks.
Nicolas Batum is out for the 76ers for personal reasons. He was part of the return from the Harden trade. The Raptors are on the second night of a back-to-back set and won’t submit an official injury report until 1 p.m. ET, but Precious Achiuwa and Christian Koloko are likely to remain sidelined.
The 76ers are 9-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, while the total is set at 215.5. Philadelphia is -375 on the moneyline while Toronto is +295.
Raptors vs. 76ers, 7 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: 76ers -9
While the Raptors are coming off a big win against the Bucks, I still like the 76ers to cover this spread here. The 76ers should have most of the depth they got in the Harden trade along with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Couple that with the strong start from Tobias Harris (19.7 ppg) and I can’t see the Raptors keeping up on the second night of a back-to-back. The 76ers won their first matchup of the season by seven points, I think this’ll end up being a double-digit victory.
Over/Under: Under 215.5
While this line is juiced towards the over, I like this under. Not only is it the second night of a back-to-back for the Raptors, but this under hit in four of the five games the Raptors have played in this season. There’s a chance Embiid could take over this game and bump the total up himself, but I think this’ll be a slower-paced game that doesn’t feature a lot of scoring.