Sixers, Raptors tight on NBA odds for Thursday

The second day of May on Thursday brings just one NBA playoff game with it, and it’s from the Eastern Conference: Second-seeded Toronto Raptors at No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers. The game opened as a pick’em with a total of 214 but now has Toronto at -1.5. With the series knotted at 1-1, the Raptors are -200 and the 76ers +170. When a best-of-seven series is tied 1-1, the Game 3 winner takes the series the vast majority of the time. That’s true in any sport.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

If you don’t have a dog in this fight, perhaps root for the Raptors? Those folks in the city of Toronto could use some good sporting news in the major American sports leagues. The longest drought in the NHL of reaching the Stanley Cup final belongs to the Maple Leafs, and Toronto is probably the most fanatic hockey market in the world. The Leafs were knocked out of the first round this year by the Boston Bruins.

MLB’s Blue Jays reached the ALCS in 2015 and 2016 but lost in both. The Blue Jays haven’t been to the World Series since winning a second straight in 1993. Of course, there’s no NFL team in Canada, but the CFL’s Argonauts are coming off a horrible 4-14 season in 2018.