Toronto vs Philadelphia Prediction: Will Toronto be able to exact mini-revenge for their defeat in the postseason?

The Raptors crashed out of last year's playoff series with Philadelphia, and for the Canadian club, the upcoming meeting with the 76ers will be particularly crucial. Will Toronto be able to exact mini-revenge for their defeat in the postseason?

While Otto Porter Jr. is injured, Toronto's bench looks pretty dismal. Scottie Barnes has also been out recently, but he could be back in action in time for the game against Philadelphia. Khem Birch and Chris Boucher have recently recovered, and both are slowly getting game minutes. The Raptors coach actively brings up big men from the reserve, moving Pascal Siakam to the light forward position. Precious Achiuwa has improved his long-range shot and is now hardly the best among Toronto's reserves. Even rookie Christian Koloko has been named to the starting five, although his stats have been underwhelming. The Raptors' main problem is with their back line, and so far, the second-seeded pairing of Dalano Banton-Malachi Flynn looks preferable.

Nick Nurse's men have picked up two wins in four regular season games. The day before, in Barnes's absence, Toronto took revenge on Miami, 98-90. Fred VanVleet and Chris Boucher made nice long-range shots, and Gary Trent Jr. made 4 threes for the home team. Achiuwa helped the Raptors win the battle in the backboard. The Nigerian big man had 4 offensive and 18 defensive rebounds. Siakam had his worst game, sinking 7 of 22 shots from the field, and again he missed especially a lot from midrange. VanVleet was Toronto's highest scorer with 24 points and 9 assists.

The 76ers have been productive in the free agent market, putting together a good bench, but their start to the season has looked worse than Toronto's. Doc Rivers' men suffered three losses in four games, losing to Boston, Milwaukee, and San Antonio. As expected, only four Philadelphia players are averaging 10+ points per game, with Tobias Harris (15.0) having the least so far. The Harden-Embiid-Maxey-Harris four will be the core of the 76ers' offensive game, while De'Anthony Melton is fifth in scoring so far. Matisse Thybulle has completely lost his place in the rotation, Furkan Korkmaz is also barely playing, and Montrezl Harrell is not being utilized much. The good news is that Harden is looking more confident than he did last season. He's averaging 26.8 points, hitting 3 three-pointers, and giving up just under 10 assists. Only Melton is in the 76ers' infirmary, but his participation is currently questionable.

Doc Rivers' team picked up their first win of the current regular season in a game against Indiana, 120-106. Joel Embiid finally pulled himself together again, hitting 8 of 13 shots from the field. Harris and Harden also shot at least 50%, but Tyrese Maxey was far less effective than usual. Nevertheless, Maxey scored 2 treys from 5 attempts, with Melton, Niang, and the same Harden and Harris also flying well. Philadelphia treasured the ball that night and committed only 7 losses, and the lost fight on their own board did not prevent the 76ers from winning.

The Raptors have not been particularly impressive at the start of the season, even though they have won more often than Philadelphia. The 76ers used their size advantage well in the last playoffs, and Embiid will have plenty of space now. If Barnes doesn't play, it will be even easier for the visitors. Harden is in great form, Embiid is slowly improving, and Maxey should be on his best form since the Indiana game. Many of the Raptors' starting five players are unstable, especially VanVleet and Trent. Siakam is forced to hit shots from mid-range, an injury to Barnes, who has been taking a similar toll here. Face-to-face meetings speak in favor of the visitors, so our prediction for the Toronto vs Philadelphia matchup is as follows:

• Philadelphia win including overtime for 1.76;
• Total Under 214.5 points for 1.72;
• Philadelphia handicap (-5.5) for 2.40.