Thursday marks one of the most anticipated games of the NBA season as Kawhi Leonard returns to San Antonio. In the latest episode of the Sports Betting Tips podcast, host Chris Sheridan is joined by Jabari Young of The Athletic to discuss Leonard’s “alumni game” versus his former team. The Spurs are a two-point home favorite against Leonard and the Toronto Raptors, according to the oddsmakers at BetDSI.
Listen to the podcast here;
“The fans are going to boo him,” said Young. “They’re going to get on him and they’re going to boo him the same way fans in Portland booed LaMarcus Aldridge when he came back as a member of the Spurs.”
Leonard was deemed as the franchise centerpiece in San Antonio last season until what seemed like a simple injury proved to be an irreparable chasm between the sides. To this day, we’re not quite clear on what happened with Leonard in San Antonio as he hasn’t spoken much about the issue. In June, reports surfaced that Leonard wanted out of San Antonio and the Spurs ended up trading him to Toronto.
The other part of the equation here is that DeMar DeRozan will also be facing his former team. DeRozan felt scorned by Raptors management after they seemingly promised him he wouldn’t be traded.
Related: NBA Betting Guide
“In the end, I hope DeMar and Kahwi play well and the better team wins the game” says Young.
Heading into this game, Toronto has clearly been the better team. Although the Spurs are dealing with a slew of injuries, Toronto is still 28-11 and holds a half-game lead for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. In a smaller sample size, though, the Spurs have been better as they have won two in a row and six of their last eight. They are still just 21-17 and are tied for seventh place in the Western Conference. That’s why we see them as a small favorite in this spot.
“They lost Dejounte Murray going into the season and it was supposed to be a lost season but somehow, it isn’t,” said Sheridan on the podcast. “They beat the Boston Celtics the other night They beat the Clippers by 11. They played a back-to-back with the Denver Nuggets and they beat them by eight and then went on the road and lost by three, but they’ve won three of their last four.”
The Spurs are also a healthy 15-5 at home, mostly because their defense fares much better at home than on the road. The Spurs are fifth in the NBA in points per game allowed at home (104.2), but drop to 21st when they are on the road (114.7).
In the podcast, the guys also focus on the individual performance of the players as Sheridan notes that the over-under for Leonard’s points in the game is 27.5, while DeRozan’s total is at 24.5.
To hear the full episode with Sheridan and Young, tune in at GetMoreSports and hear the full breakdown before tonight’s epic showdown.
