The Philadelphia 76ers were embarrassed Tuesday, suffering their worst loss of the year. Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard continues to show his greatness while other Raptors are making significant contributions as well. Here’s a sports betting recap of Game 5 and a lookahead to Game 6.
Turn around the airplane, the Philadelphia 76ers lost their second game in a row and the Toronto Raptors took a 3-2 series lead Tuesday.
The game got so out of hand that Drake was seen mocking Embiid’s Game 3 celebration.
The 36-point loss was the Sixers’ worst loss of the year and came without Kawhi Leonard reaching 30 points for the first time all series.
This time it was Pascal Siakam who led the Raptors in points with 25. All five Toronto starters managed to score double-digits, along with Serge Ibaka scoring 10 from the bench.
Overall, these playoffs have magnified the offensive deficiencies of Ben Simmons while exemplifying Kawhi Leonard’s playoff prowess.
Simmons is scoring just 9.5 ppg. Lacking any sort of aggression, the young point guard has only gotten to the free throw line four times this series.
Leonard, who was once a NBA Finals MVP, is having his best playoffs yet with 31 ppg. Leonard is the only player in NBA history to score more than 300 points on 200 shots or less in the first 10 playoff games of the postseason.
Oddsmakers at PointsBet have Philadelphia as 2-point home underdogs Thursday night and +525 to win the series. The Over/Under is 213.
Stat of the Day:
Simmons isn’t the only player who has struggled for the Sixers. Joel Embiid is playing well below expectations as well.
Embiid is averaging only 17 ppg this series, 10 less than he averaged in the regular season. Combined, the duo (Simmons and Embiid) are scoring 18 ppg fewer than their regular season average.
Monkey Knife Fight Prop Shop: Embiid Under 11.5 Rebounds; Leonard Over 31.5 Points via Over/Under (2.6x)
Embiid isn’t just playing below average offensively. He’s also failing to make his presence felt on the glass. Grabbing 7.6 rebounds per game in the series, Embiid’s best rebound performance came in Game 3 when he grabbed 10 off the glass. Still, 7.6 rpg is significantly lower than his 13.6 regular season average. For that reason, I’ll be taking the Under in 10.5 Embiid rebounds in Monkey Knife Fight’s Over/Under two-legged parlay.
Some of Embiid’s poor play can be contributed to not being at full strength. The big man has been plagued with injuries throughout his career and it’s clear that the postseason grind has caught up to him.
In the second leg of the unique prop parlay offered by Monkey Knife Fight, I’ll take Over 31.5 Kawhi Leonard points. Leonard finally regressed a little in Game 5, but the forward has been too hot these playoffs for me to go Under. If both props hit, it’s a 2.6x payout.
The Breakfast Pick
Simmons isn’t going to miraculously find a jump shot and Embiid isn’t all of a sudden going to show up healthy. The Sixers do have other pieces, such as Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler. In fact, Butler has been the best player for the Sixers this series. But beyond that, they really lack depth.
For some reason, people seemed to have forgotten how great Leonard truly is. It’s not a stretch to say he’s a top three player in basketball
With help from Siakam, the Raptors look like a serious threat to take down the No. 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks. Of course, they need to get past Philadelphia first, which I expect them to do tonight. Breakfast Pick: Toronto Raptors -2
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