Philadelphia 76ers Are Big Underdogs Against Toronto Raptors, Celtics Have Better Odds To Win East

The Philadelphia 76ers have the most talented starting lineup in the NBA outside of the Golden State Warriors. That doesn't necessarily make them one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and they face an uphill battle to win more than one round in the 2019 NBA playoffs.

Philadelphia is a decided underdog in their second-round series with the Toronto Raptors. The 76ers have +190 betting odds to reach the conference finals. The Raptors are an early -230 favorite.

Both teams in the East’s other second-round series are given a better chance to reach the 2019 NBA Finals. The Milwaukee Bucks are the best team in the conference after leading the NBA with 60 regular-season wins and sweeping the Detroit Pistons in the first round. The Boston Celtics are given better odds than Philadelphia to win the East, even though Boston is a bigger underdog in their upcoming matchup.

According to OddsShark, sportsbooks give Philadelphia anywhere from +450 to +600 betting odds to represent the East in the finals. Boston has between +400 and +550 odds.

Many of the questions surrounding the 76ers are related to the health of Joel Embiid. The center was Philadelphia's best player during their 51-win regular season, and he has a chance to finish in the top five in the MVP voting.

Embiid also missed most of the team’s games after the All-Star break, and a knee injury has already cost him a game in the playoffs.

It doesn't sound like this knee issue is going away anytime soon. Embiid missed 10 of 15 shots in Philadelphia's first-round opener, which saw the Brooklyn Nets pull off an upset on the road. The All-Star was much better in Game 2, but his injury kept him out of Game 3.

The way Embiid and Philadelphia finished their first-round series provides a reason to be encouraged. Embiid averaged 27 points, 14.5 rebounds and three blocks in Game 4 and Game 5 as the 76ers completed four straight wins to eliminate the Nets.

Toronto had a similar experience in the first round. After dropping Game 1 at home to the Orlando Magic, the Raptors won four consecutive games to punch their ticket to the second round. The 76ers took the clincher 122-100, and the Raptors ended the first round with a 115-96 victory.

Ben Simmons averaged 17.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game against Brooklyn after being an All-Star in the regular season. Jimmy Butler was traded to Philadelphia earlier in the year after four straight All-Star seasons. Tobias Harris narrowly missed becoming a Western Conference All-Star before the 76ers acquired him in February.

The 76ers lost to the Celtics in five games in the second round of last year’s playoffs as heavy favorites.