Sports betting: Vegas Vic’s taking the Sixers, looking for more from Joel Embiid

Inquirer handicapper Vegas Vic looks at Thursday night’s playoff games.

Read more Sixers coverage here.

Las Vegas -- With the exception of Golden State/Houston, every series is knotted at one game apiece. Teams that won Game 1, lost Game 2. Teams that lost Game 1, won Game 2. So, how do we handicap Game 3 of the Sixers/Raptors series? Very carefully.

Noticed that Toronto has been VERY sharp on the road recently, winning seven of the last eight. Also noticed that the Raps have bounced back REALLY strong from a loss, winning ten of the last 13. Then we flipped a few pages to the 'P' section of our NBA stat bible, and found out that the Sixers have won nine of the last 11 at the Bank. So, you can see how I am being pulled in two directions.

If you’re playing totals, you might wanna think about going under. Philly has gone low in four straight games, while the North has gone under in seven of the last eight. Expecting more than 12 points from Mr. Embiid, but concerned about the status of Greg Monroe’s lower-body injury. Only kidding. This ain’t the NHL, so we’ll give you the body part. He tweaked his ankle after a fantastic performance off the bench, scoring 10 points and gobbling up five boards in only 12 minutes.

So we’ll lean to the Sixers at plus-1 with $55 to win $50.

Double V is gonna skate on to the NHL ice tonight, and try the Avalanche one more time.

Totally get that the Sharks have some kind of a mystical edge on Colorado, winning five of the last six, but it’s time for the spell to be broken. The Avs CAN NOT go down 3-1 heading back to San Jose, and you know they will bring some serious jump to the ice tonight.

Gonna drop $60 to win back $50 on Colorado.