NBA Playoff Monday: Do the Sixers have a shot? Frank picks Sixers v Raptors but isn’t sure about Trail Blazers v Nuggets

Sixers (+6.5) @ Raptors (220.5)
Pick: Raptors -6.5

The Sixers looked more like the regular season version of the road Sixers on Saturday night, getting clobbered North of the border against the Raptors in Game 1. For the regular season and playoffs combined, Philly is now 19-25 ATS on the road. How the Sixers lost on Saturday is more telling than the 13-point margin. Toronto dominated the game from start to finish and Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam were best two players on the floor. If that continues, the Sixers have no chance in this series. Philadelphia is not deep enough to be able to have Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler shoot a combined 15-for-47 as they did on Saturday and win. Ben Simmons had some success when he was attacking the basket but those moments did not happen often enough. If this was a 13-point loss in which Philly competed well with Toronto for three quarters and things got away in the fourth, it would be much easier to back the Sixers getting over two possessions tonight. Instead, the Toronto side is the only one I can get to the window with given how convincing the Game 1 win was. For what it’s worth, the Raptors won three of the four regular season meetings between these teams as well and Leonard did not play in their one loss to Philly. The Sixers might be able to turn this series around, but if so, it won’t happen until things shift to Wells Fargo Center.

As for the other game in the association on Monday, I have no play on it. Portland just won a thriller to close out Oklahoma City on an insane buzzer beater from Damian Lillard. Denver advanced in the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. You should look to fade teams off of emotional victories. But with both teams off those kinds of wins, it’s better to wait and see which team turns the page faster and I don’t have much of a feel for the total either.