The Toronto Raptors head to the Barclays Center to face the Brooklyn Nets for a Tuesday night showdown between Atlantic Division rivals.
Brooklyn leads the Atlantic with a 19-8 SU record. The Nets are the odds on favorite to win the 2022 NBA championship but right now, they only have the 4th best record in the league behind the Warriors, Suns, and Jazz although they are the betting favorites to win the East. In their division, the Nets lead the second-place Philadelphia 76ers by 4.5 games.
Toronto meanwhile is just second from the bottom at 13-14 SU and they have fallen six games behind the Nets’ current pace. The Raptors are out of the Top 6 spots in the East although, at 10th, they will get a chance to enter the playoffs via the play-in tournament if the postseason began today. Toronto played on Monday against the Kings on their home floor and will be playing in back-to-back games here.
The Raptors’ search for consistency continues as they try to get back to the .500 mark against the Nets. Toronto has won its last two games including a 23-point home rout of the Sacramento Kings at home on Monday night.
Chris Boucher tied a season-high with 17 points as Toronto poured in 70 first-half points to blow out the Kings. Pascal Siakam and Scottie Barnes added 16 points each while Fred VanVleet added 12. Garry Trent also scored in double-digits with 12 as the Raptors made a season-high 53 field goals and issue a season-best 28 assists in the 124-101 win over the Kings.
Toronto is scoring an average of 104.3 points per game, 25th in the league. They are also ranked 18th in rebounding at 44.7 boards grabbed per contest. The Raptors are next to last in passing at only 21.0 assists per game this season.
The Nets are coming off a 116-104 win over the Detroit Pistons last Sunday. Brooklyn has the best record in the Eastern Conference but they continue to be without the unvaccinated Kyrie Irving who has yet to play a game this season. With James Harden sitting out the game due to rest, it was time for Kevin Durant to shine. And shine he did.
Durant scored an NBA season-high 51 points for the Nets in 41 minutes of action. Patty Mills added 18 points for the Nets who blew the game wide open with a 30-13 4th quarter. LaMarcus Aldridge added 15 points and 5 rebounds while no other Nets scored in double digits. Durant also had 7 rebounds and 9 assists to lead the Nets in a one-man show effort.
The Nets are ranked 10th in the league in scoring at 109.4 points per game scored this season. Brooklyn is 19th in rebounding at 44.6 boards grabbed per contest and they are the 5th best passing team in the NBA at 25.4 assists per game.
Toronto is 4-1 SU in their last five games played. The Raptors are 7-5 SU in 12 road games played this season. Brooklyn is 15-5 SU in their last 20 games played. The Nets are 8-5 SU in 13 home games played this season, and 8-1 SU in their last nine games against the Eastern Conference.
Head to head, the Raptors are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played against the Nets. Toronto is also 11-2 SU in their last 13 games played in Brooklyn.
The Nets are just 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played and are a mere 8-5 SU in 13 home games played this season.
Kevin Durant is coming off a 51-point game against the Pistons but he played 41 minutes in that game. The Nets had Monday off but Steve Nash can’t give KD too many minutes in what is supposed to be an easy game against the Pistons.
The Raptors won’t be as easy as an opponent. This is a team that has fought their way back each time they are in danger of falling a little far from the .500 mark. With wins in their last two game, the Raptors are in a groove right now.
With the Raptors’ ability to play good defense, they can keep themselves in the thick of the fight throughout the game and give themselves a good chance to steal it. However, Brooklyn has an excellent closer in KD and we saw him do damage last Sunday against the Pistons.
Give me another big night from KD as the Nets do just enough to get past the Raptors.
Prediction: Brooklyn Nets
The Raptors are 4-1 ATS in their last five games played. Toronto is 4-0 ATS in their last four games against an opponent with a winning straight up record, 5-1 ATS in their last six games when playing on zero days rest, 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against an opponent with a winning percentage higher than .600, 1-4 ATS in their last five road games against an opponent with a winning home record better than .600, and 1-6 ATS in their last seven Tuesday games.
The Nets are just 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games played. Brooklyn is 0-5 ATS in their last five games played at home, 1-4 ATS in their last five games against an opponent with a winning road record, 19-8 ATS in their last 27 games against an opponent with a losing straight up record, and 49-23-1 ATS in their last 73 Tuesday games.
Head to head, these teams have split their last 10 meetings ATS, but Toronto is 5-1 ATS in their last six meetings in Brooklyn.
The Brooklyn Nets have the edge in talent and head to this game more rested than their opponent. However, they have won their last five games by an average winning margin of 6.0 points per game so they have not necessarily have been blowing out their opposition.
The Nets are just 11-15 ATS on the season and have an ATS plus/minus of -1.6 points per game. They are also dead-last in the league in ATS as home favorites at 3-9-1 ATS with an ATS plus/minus of -5.1. Toronto meanwhile is 7-5 ATS as road underdogs and has an ATS plus/minus of +7.0 when playing that role. I like the Nets to win but I can’t give away 8 points to a Toronto team that has won back-to-back games against the Knicks and Kings. I’ll take the plus points.
Prediction: Raptors +8.5
The total has gone under in five out of the last seven games played by the Raptors. The under is 4-1 in their last five games played against the Eastern Conference, 5-1 in their last six Tuesday games. The over is 6-0 in Toronto’s last six road games against an opponent with a winning home record, 6-0 in their last six games against an opponent with a winning percentage better than .600, and 6-1 in their last seven road games.
The total has gone under in five out of the last six games played by the Nets. The under is 5-1 in their last six December games, 4-1-1 in their last six Tuesday games, 27-10 in their last 37 games against an opponent with a losing SU record, 5-2 in their last seven home games against an opponent with a winning road record, and 12-5-1 in their last 18 games played at home.
Head to head, the under is 2-1 in the last three meetings between these two teams.
The Nets rank 10th in the NBA in scoring at 109.4 points per game while the Raptors are just 25th at 104.3 points per game this season. Add those up you’ll get a total of 213.7 points per game scored by both teams on average.
Defensively, both these teams are among the league’s elites with Toronto ranking 6th in scoring defense at 104.6 points per game allowed and Brooklyn 11th overall at 105.7 points per game allowed. The Nets also rank 2nd overall in opponent FG% allowed at only 42.8% and are first overall in 3P% allowed at just 30.8%. Toronto meanwhile is the league leader in opponents’ FG attempts allowed at 83.2 per game.
The Raptors have gone under 216 points in five out of their last seven games played while Brooklyn has gone under 216 thrice in their last six. This game should go under the total.
Prediction: Under 216
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