The Atlantic’s top team will be at home when the Toronto Raptors (41-28) welcome the division rival New York Knicks (14-55) to the Air Canada Centre. Action begins at 4:00 pm ET on Sunday, Mar. 22 and can be seen on MSG and SNN.
The Raptors are are expecting a better outcome after their 108-92 loss to the Bulls on Friday. DeMar DeRozan was the team’s leading scorer with 27 points. The Knicks, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after the 97-81 loss against the 76ers on Friday. Alexey Shved led the game in scoring with 25 points.
Over the last five games, DeRozan has taken his game to another level for the Raptors, averaging 22.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.8 three-pointers.
The Raptors could have their way today, as their prolific offense faces off against one of the league’s worst defenses. They currently rank fourth in the NBA in offensive efficiency while New York ranks 29th in defensive efficiency.
The Raptors lead the season series against the Knicks two games to one, but fell short in their most recent game, 103-98. Tim Hardaway Jr. had a stellar game with 22 points, seven rebounds, one assist, and two three-pointers.
The odds for Toronto and New York are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Raptors have gone 41-28 Straight Up (SU) and 31-37-1 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 10-2 SU and 5-7 ATS against divisional opponents. The Raptors have no trouble scoring as they rank fourth in the league in offense with 104.3 points per game. The Raptors are one of the best in the NBA in terms of free throws made, making an impressive 19.5 per game. Not making mistakes with the ball is a staple of Toronto’s offense, which averages just 12.1 turnovers per game.
Over on the other bench, the Knicks have a record of 27-40-2 ATS and 14-55 SU. Against fellow division members, New York has a 4-8 SU and a 6-6 ATS record.
In their previous meeting this season, New York beat Toronto, bringing the head-to-head record to an even 5-5 SU over the last 10 meetings. On the other hand, the Knicks hold the advantage ATS with a record of 7-3. In these last 10 matchups, each team was able to hold the edge in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers one time.
Predictions: SU Winner – TOR, ATS Winner – TOR
Notes
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Toronto’s last 11 games.
Toronto is 4-11 SU in its last 15 games.
Toronto is 4-11 ATS in its last 15 games.
Toronto is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Toronto’s last 7 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Toronto’s last 10 games when playing New York.
Toronto is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing New York.
Toronto is 15-6 SU in its last 21 games when playing at home against New York.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Toronto’s last 5 games when playing at home against New York.
Toronto ranks fourth in points per game with 104.3, while New York ranks 22nd in points allowed with an average of 101.2 given up.
On average, Toronto puts up 102.9 points per home game (ranked 10th). New York ranks 21st in points allowed per road game with 103.1.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Toronto Raptors are a superb 23-5. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the New York Knicks have an underachieving record of 6-49.
Toronto has an 18-23 record when allowing at least 100 points. New York has an 8-6 record when it hits the century mark.
Ranked fourth, the Raptors have an offensive rating of 107.6. The Knicks, on the other hand, rank 29th with a defensive rating of 107.2.
On average, Toronto has 97.0 possessions per game and scores 1.076 points on each possession. New York has both fewer possessions (94.4) and scores fewer points during those possessions (.978).
Toronto is among the top-ranked teams based on its average effective field goal percentage of 50.5% (ranked 10th in the NBA). New York is an underachieving 3-36 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Toronto Raptors attempt 25.3 three point field goals per game and the New York Knicks attempt 19.7 per game. In games where they attempt at least 25 threes, Toronto is 23-18, while New York has an abysmal record of 1-13.
Toronto has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.71 this season (ranked eighth), while New York ranks lower at 18th with an A/TO of 1.59.
Both the Toronto Raptors and the New York Knicks have had their share of rebound struggles this season. The Raptors rank 26th in rebounding (41.5 per game) and the Knicks rank 29th (40.6 per game).
The New York Knicks rank 17th in offensive rebounding, while the Toronto Raptors rank 27th in defensive rebounding.
Toronto has forced an average turnover percentage of 14.7% this season. New York has an abysmal 3-23 record when its TOV% is 14.7% or higher.
