The Toronto Raptors (38-25) and their fourth-ranked offense travel to San Antonio (39-23) to take on the Spurs and their fourth-ranked defense. Action begins at 8:30 pm ET on Tuesday, Mar. 10 and can be seen on TSN2 and FSN-SW.
The Spurs played well in their last game, topping the Bulls 116-105 on Sunday. Tony Parker was the game’s leading scorer with 32 points on 13-for-19 shooting. The Raptors, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after the 108-104 loss against the Thunder on Sunday. Terrence Ross had a good game for Toronto, registering 20 points, four rebounds, and two steals.
Parker and Kawhi Leonard have been better than usual over the last five games for the Spurs. During that stretch, Parker has averaged 20.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.2 steals, while Leonard has recorded 21.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.2 steals, 1.6 blocks, and 0.8 three-pointers a game. DeMar DeRozan has been hot for the Raptors. In the same five-game span, he is averaging 25.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.6 three-pointers.
It will be a showdown of two heavyweights, as the productive offense of the Raptors (fourth in the league with an offensive efficiency of 107.6) takes the court against the elite defense of the Spurs (fourth in the NBA with a defensive efficiency of 99.7).
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Raptors winning the first matchup 87-82. James Johnson was the game’s top overall scorer with 20 points.
The odds for San Antonio and Toronto are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable as of now. The Spurs come into this game 39-23 Straight Up (SU) and 27-33-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 17-5 SU and 10-12 ATS against the Eastern Conference. The Spurs have no trouble scoring as they rank fifth in the league in home offense with 105.5 points per game.
As for their opponent, the Raptors have 38-25 SU and 29-33-1 ATS records. Toronto has not performed well ATS during its last 10 games, earning a 3-7 record. Offensively, they average 105.8 points per game on the road, which is second in the league. The Raptors convert their free throws at a high percentage, ranking third in the league at .786. Taking care of the basketball is something the Raptors do very well, averaging just 12.2 turnovers per game.
The Raptors’ win over San Antonio in their last clash wasn’t enough for them to overtake the Spurs in the recent head-to-head series. Their record is now 2-8 SU over the last 10 meetings. The Spurs also lead the matchup ATS with a record of 5-4-1. San Antonio held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers four times in the last 10 matchups. On the other side of the court, Toronto never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – SA, ATS Winner – SA
Notes
The Toronto Raptors are among the highest-scoring squads, earning an average of 104.4 points per game (ranked fifth), while the San Antonio Spurs are in the top half of NBA teams in points allowed with 97.2 (ranked eighth).
San Antonio ranks 17th in points allowed per home game (98.7 PPG), while Toronto ranks second in points per away game with 105.8.
The Toronto Raptors have a stellar 21-5 record when their opponents score fewer than 100 points this season. The San Antonio Spurs are 13-17 when they score less than 100.
When the Toronto Raptors allow at least 100 points they are 17-20, while the San Antonio Spurs are 26-6 when they reach the century mark.
Toronto’s offense and San Antonio’s defense both rank fourth this season. Toronto has an offensive rating of 107.6 and San Antonio has a defensive rating of 99.7.
Ranked eighth in the NBA, San Antonio has an average field goal percentage of 45.7%. Toronto is 19-20 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Toronto Raptors rank lower for their field goal percentage (14th) than their effective field goal percentage (eighth), while the San Antonio Spurs rank the same for both metrics (eighth).
San Antonio makes an average of 23.9 assists per game (ranked sixth), while Toronto makes 20.8 assists per game (ranked 22nd).
The San Antonio Spurs average 5.5 blocks per game for a rank of seventh. The Toronto Raptors rank lower (19th), earning 4.5 blocks each game.
The San Antonio Spurs rank 26th in offensive rebounding, while the Toronto Raptors rank 27th in defensive rebounding.
San Antonio averages 7.8 steals per game. Toronto is 17-15 when allowing at least 7 steals.
