Canada’s only NBA franchise continues to tour the Pacific coast and the Raptors caravan will make a stop in Portland, where they’ll play the Trail Blazers, who enjoyed home cooking over the entire week. It going to be an interesting matchup between two prolific, scoring backcourt duos, so tune in and see if you can earn a dollar or two.
Raptors at Trail Blazers
Spread: Portland -2 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: o/u 215.5 points (-110)
Starters carry Raptors to a win over the Lakers
After tight losses in the first two games of this road trip, the Toronto Raptors finally got one in the W column. On Friday, they beat the L.A. Lakers 101-92 behind strong showing of their All-Star duo. Lakers starters were completely outplayed and they were benched, twice, as the Raptors controlled the outcome of the game despite not blowing them out. The Raptors may only be 3-2, but have played very consistent and good basketball.
Kyle Lowry gave Ball a little taste of his own medicine with 11 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists triple-double night. Stretch forwards Ibaka and Siakam each scored 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Playing in his hometown, DeRozan led all scorers with 24 points. The Raptors didn’t come out with the sense of urgency I was expecting them to do, considering that they’ve lost two previous games. Instead, the veteran team let the game come to them and looked better and better as the game progressed. The bench gave them some bad minutes in the first half, digging them in a 14-point hole, so it took a bit longer to get a grip on the outcome of the game, but it was never much doubted who the better team is.
They played without their starting center Valanciunas again, but he’s traveling with the team in hope to be ready in one of the following games, perhaps even in Portland. Still, coach Casey has to be happy to get more quality first unit minutes from Siakam, who is growing into a nice two-way player for them.
Place: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Date/Time: Monday, October 30th, 2017. 10:00 PM ET
TV Coverage: TSN
The Blazers are average, it’s almost official
Portland has been alternating wins and losses over the last ten days, so they are aiming for a little more consistency. They are up high in the Western Conference standings, but two of those wins came against the sorry Suns. On the other hand, both losses came at hands of the only projected playoff teams they faced so far, so the Blazers seem to fit the middle of the pack pre-season prediction. If they want to go up a tier, they would have to do more than what they did on Saturday, when they trailed throughout the game to muscle out a 114-107 victory over the Suns at the end of it.
Of course, these are not the same Suns as under Watson, as the franchise decision makers removed him and Bledsoe after humiliating series of defeats, that included one to the Blazers. Then again, these are the same Suns. This time the Blazers never led by double digits as they could keep Suns from scoring by putting them on the line and breaking down any time Booker had the ball. Portland has shot 44 percent from the field and was strong on the glass once again. Still, their key players weren’t on a high level. Lillard decided the game with a long jumper, but was only 7-of-21. McCollum hit just a single three and ended up shooting 9-of-20 from the field. Nurkic is wasting too many possessions since the start of the season, and is proving to be more trouble than good. The only player who really earned his paycheck was Pat Connaughton, a backup shooter who scored 13 points on just 5 shots.
This game marks the end of a four-game homestand for the Blazers, who made the best of a favorable early schedule. They travel to Utah next, before returning to Portland for another 6-game home set.
Toronto Raptors at Portland Trail Blazers Game Trends & Prediction
The Toronto Raptors have been kind to their backers so far. They failed to cover only once this season (not helped by a tiny handicap in San Antonio), making them one of the most profitable team to bet in the first two weeks. After two offensive explosions at home that resulted in overs, the last three games failed to reach the set total points line, so they come into this game with a 2-3 O/U record overall, and 0-3 when on the road.
The Portland Trail Blazers are 3-2-1 against the spread overall, and 1-2 at home after failing to cover in their last two. High lines and low shooting percentages marred them into 2-4 O/U record, but the last game did end up in an over.
Admi-Rank: I’ve been impressed by the Raptors so far, comparing to what was expected, so they are in an uptrend. The Trail Blazers have had their moments as well, but a home loss to Clippers and the performance in the second game against the Suns have marked their ceiling. The Raptors hold the edge with full squads.
The North are often overlooked for their location and they won’t instantly turn into a public team, so there’s no real concern that the bookies will squash any value in fear of one-sided wagering. On top of that, the Blazers are tough to beat at home no matter who you are, and we are still not seeing their top game. These rivals are similar in terms of the leading duo in the backcourt, but recently, the Raptors have had much better cohesion and contribution from their big men. Therein lies their advantage, especially if they get big Lithuanian back.
The books are favoring the Blazers early on, and there’s no clear signal whether Valanciunas plays or not, so I’m going to count him out for any attempt to go with the Raptors. This brings my number to exactly the same spread of 2 points. Even if the Raptors confirm his status tomorrow, it’s unlikely that the line moves enough for a bet. Instead, I’m turning to total line, set at 215.5 points. The low shooting percentages come into play here. Lillard and other Blazers won’t be shooting this badly for long. They are already addressing it during practices and shootarounds, so it’s a matter of time the law of averages kicks in. Since the game figures to be a close call, there’s a decent chance of late-game fouling (or overtime), so I’m going to invest my money on the over 215.5 points with hopes of Toronto’s mini away streak coming to an end here.
My Pick: (no wager on the spread)
Total: Over 215.5 points (-110)
