Cavaliers vs. Raptors Prediction: NBA Odds, Point Spread
They opened as 9.5-point favourites on the NBA odds.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
With a very tough game on tap Tuesday in Tampa vs. Brooklyn and then a crazy-hard four-game road trip through the Western Conference up next after that, the Raptors simply can’t afford to lose at home to a bad Cleveland team and hope to make the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.
Both games in this season series were in Cleveland, with the Raptors losing 116-105 on March 21 and winning 135-115 on April 10. Gary Trent Jr. had one of the best games in Toronto history in that victory by shooting an absurd 17-for-19 from the field for a career-high 44 points. The Dinos scored a franchise-record 87 first-half points. The only Toronto regular to have played in both Cleveland games is OG Anunoby, who is averaging 16.0 points and 5.5 rebounds.
Cleveland, which probably won’t lose enough the rest of the way to earn one of the three-worst records in the NBA and the best shot at winning the draft lottery, has been led by young star Collin Sexton in the season series as he averages 32.5 points. Darius Garland has put up 17.0 points and 7.0 assists per game.
The Cave covered the spread in 13 of the past 20 meetings. The over is 6-1 in the previous seven.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland lost 119-110 at Washington on Sunday despite leading by eight early in the fourth quarter. Cavs leading scorer Collin Sexton (24.5 ppg) was out with a concussion and presumably won’t play here – a huge break for Toronto. Darius Garland led Cleveland on Sunday with 28 points, while Jarrett Allen had a career-high 27 points along with 12 rebounds. Garland has scored 20 or more points in a career-best six straight games (averaging 24.2 ppg over that stretch). Cedi Osman, after getting five straight DNP-CDs, got the start for Sexton and had 19 points. Cleveland is 7-19 ATS in its past 26 road games.
Toronto Raptors
Toronto’s four-game winning streak was snapped Saturday at the hottest team in the NBA, the New York Knicks, by a score of 120-103. It was back-and-forth through three quarters, but the Knicks won the season series for the first time since 2010-11. Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby each scored 27 points for the Raptors. VanVleet added 11 assists. Kyle Lowry really struggled, shooting 1-for-10.
Chris Boucher missed it after spraining the MCL in his left knee on Wednesday, and he won’t play for a while. Rodney Hood missed a second straight game with a right hip injury but is probable for Monday. This is the front end of a back-to-back for Toronto. The team is 6-7 in the front end of them this season. The Dinos are looking for a season-high fifth straight win in Tampa. The Raptors have had at least one five-game home winning streak in four straight years. They are 4-9 ATS in their past 13 as favourites overall.
CLE
TOR