Not The Same at Home
The Toronto Raptors were one of the best home teams in the NBA in 2006-07. That hasn’t been the case this season.
Coming off another disappointing home loss, the Raptors look to avoid dropping their season high fourth in a row at the Air Canada Centre when they face the lowly Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made Toronto –8.5 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 185.5 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 69% of bets for this game have been placed on Toronto –8.5 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
Toronto (17-17) blew a 20-point lead and lost 93-90 to Cleveland on Sunday. It was the Raptors’ third straight home loss and dropped them to 8-8 there.
"You are going to win some you shouldn’t win and you’re going to lose some you think you should win," said Toronto coach Sam Mitchell, whose previous home losses during its skid came against Eastern Conference powers Boston and Detroit.
The Raptors, who tied for the second-best home record in the East last season when they finished 30-11, lost consecutive games at Air Canada Centre just once in 2006-07 and haven’t lost four straight there since a five-game slide from Mar. 29-Apr. 9, 2006.
Sunday’s loss, though, might be one that could be tough to forget for the Raptors, who have lost six of their last eight overall.
"It’s frustrating but it’s the small things we could have done," said forward Chris Bosh, who scored 23 points for the second straight game.
Toronto shot 49.3 percent, but was outrebounded 52-33 and allowed LeBron James to score 24 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter. The Raptors were outscored 36-20 in the final period.
The loss overshadowed 16 points and 11 assists from Jose Calderon, and 16 points from Jamario Moon for the Raptors, who are averaging 84.0 points during their home skid, well below the 96.3 points they average in Toronto.
The Raptors, though, still have a good chance to end their home drought as they try to improve to 3-0 versus Philadelphia (14-21) this season.
Bosh, who averages 20.4 points and 9.3 rebounds this season, had 24 and 10 in the Raptors’ 105-103 win at Philadelphia on Nov. 9 in the teams’ most recent meeting.
The 76ers return to the road after falling 87-83 to Milwaukee at home on Tuesday. Philadelphia, which went 2-4 on its longest road trip of the season prior to Tuesday, will try to avoid a season-high fifth straight loss.
Though Philadelphia shot just 40.0 percent from the floor and went 0-for-13 from 3-point range, it still hung close against the Bucks.
"We were a stop or two away from winning the game,” guard Louis Williams said of the 76ers, who were 0-for-14 from beyond the arc in a win over Washington on Nov. 30.
Andre Iguodala scored 21 points and Samuel Dalembert had 16 and 16 rebounds Tuesday for the 76ers. Iguodala, who leads the team with 19.0 points per game, is averaging 24.5 in two games versus Toronto this season.
Philadelphia, which is 7-11 away from home, also looks to avoid its fourth straight road loss.
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
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