The best team in the NBA, the Toronto Raptors, are getting no respect from the oddsmakers tonight. Or, maybe the oddsmakers just have a thing for the Golden State Warriors at close to full strength.
Whatever the case, the Raptors are 7-point underdogs tonight in Oakland, Calif. for the epic clash of the teams atop the win columns in their respective conferences.
That 24-point victory over the Clippers last night in Los Angeles in which Kyle Lowry came back to life? It gets thrown out the window in the betting world, where playing the second game of a back-to-back against the reigning NBA champions means folks are expecting a loss tonight for the team that used to wear purple dinosaurs on their uniforms.
The fact that the Warriors haven’t played since Monday is no doubt a factor, too.
But if you bet with trends, check these numbers out: Toronto is 5-0 against the spread on no rest, 3-1 against the spread as an underdog, 3-1 against the spread as an away underdog, 4-1 to the over/under on no rest, 3-1 to the over/under as an underdog, and 3-1 to the over/under as an away underdog.
Which makes it worth noting that the over/under tonight is 227.
The last time these two teams played, the point total was 259 as Toronto overcame a 51-point performance from Kevin Durant to defeat Golden State 131-128 behind 31 points from Kawhi Leonard and 26 from Pascal Siakam on Nov. 30 in Toronto. (Steph Curry and Draymond Green both sat out that game).
“A lot has changed with our team,” Durant told reporters in Oakland. “Having Steph and Draymond back now just gives us our full team. We’re looking forward to seeing how we can build some momentum.”
With Leonard’s availability a question mark, the line worth looking at the closest is Kevin Durant’s point total: 27.5.
KAWHI LEONARD LUKEWARM AT BEST ON MERITS OF TORONTO
Durant has not played particularly well (by his standards) in Golden State’s last three games, scoring 22 in an eight-point win over Minnesota, 11 (on 3-for-14 shooting) in a 10-point victory over Milwaukee and 25 in a 24-point victory over Cleveland.
What does that mean? This writer believes it means he is due. Take the over.
The Warriors are bringing a four-game winning streak into this nationally televised game, and the over/under on Steph Curry’s points is 26.5.
Curry is averaging 31.4 points in five games this month after missing most of November with a leg injury, and he has scored at least 27 in four of the past five: 38 in his last outing against Minnesota; 42 against Cleveland last Wednesday; 30 against Atlanta on Dec. 3 and 27 against Detroit on Dec. 1.
The over on Curry looks like a safe bet, too. (FWIW, the folks at NASA will probably convince him that the Apollo Moon landing actually happened, but odds on whether Curry believes the scientists have not yet been posted.)
One Raptors player with a point total over/under is Kyle Lowry, who broke out of a prolonged slump Tuesday night against the Clippers and finished with 21 points after putting up a goose egg two nights earlier in a loss to Milwaukee. In his previous three games, he scored 3 points against Milwaukee, 7 points against Brooklyn and 5 points against Philadelphia.
His over/under is 16.5.
For those who like to wager on drama, the odds of this game going to overtime as the last meeting between these two teams did are 12-1.
Good luck tonight!
