The Philadelphia 76ers look to make it three straight wins when they clash against the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. They tip it off at 7:00 p.m. Mybookie has installed the 76ers as a solid 8.5-point favorite. 

Philadelphia 76ers Betting Preview

The Sixers (2-1) have won two in a row and now they were able to get the burden of disgruntled star player James Harden off their collective shoulders. Philadelphia traded away the three-time NBA scoring champ to the Los Angeles Clippers, who have stockpiled aging veterans on a team that believes they have one more shot at a title. 

As for the 76ers, who never really saw Harden as a future piece, the saga and nonsense have finally come to an end. The Sixers will have to make up for his 21 points per game, but it was evident even going back to last season that Harden is not the same player he once was. On offense, the Sixers will always be led by reigning MVP Joel Embiid, who has a nice complementary piece in Tyrese Maxey who now becomes the team's primary ball-handler. 

Maxey is averaging 30 a game early on while Embiid is pumping in a sizzling 31 a night. Philadelphia just needs to clean up on their turnovers but so far they look like a legit playoff team although the season is so young. Look for them to push the pace against the Raptors, and also win the battle on the boards which will be key. 

Toronto Raptors Betting Preview

The Raptors (2-3) have not gotten off to a good start and they have had some tough games to start the season. They have struggled to hit clean looks from the floor and they have also been very sloppy with the basketball. They are averaging 14 turnovers a game and that is not going to produce wins in this league. They did a great job of snapping a three-game slide with a very impressive win over the Milwaukee Bucks, 130-111, on Wednesday night. 

Scottie Barnes is their best ball handler, and he is also a very talented small forward. He can put the ball on the floor and go right to the rim. Toronto needs him to get going early against the Sixers, who have done a solid job locking down the opposition's best player and scorer.

Barnes had 21 in the win over the Bucks.

Toronto shoots around 42% from the floor while draining close to 33.3% from beyond the arc. Veteran forward Pascal Siakam is a solid player and a true pro. He adds a ton of veteran leadership and has been the face of the franchise for close to a decade. He is averaging 16 points per game, which is eight points less than his 24 ppg average last season. 

Game Odds, Series Trends and Free Pick 

The 76ers are 2-1 in their last three games and 3-0 in their last five games against the spread. They are also 2-0 in their road games against the number. The Raptors are 1-3 in their last five games and 2-2 in their last five games against the number. They are just 1-0 in their road games against the number. 

76ers defense and Embiid will carry them in this one.