Raptors vs. Bucks Point Spread: NBA Odds, Prediction
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Ryan Stetson.
The long-awaited matchup between the Toronto Raptors and their former all-star DeMar DeRozan didn’t exactly go as planed for the Dinos in San Antonio. While Kawhi Leonard had a solid night, it was DeRozan who stole the spotlight with his first career triple-double. Now, with that circus out of the way, it doesn’t get any easier for the Raps with a game against the top team in the NBA in Milwaukee on Saturday.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Raptors went off as 2.5-point underdogs for Thursday’s game but their supporters had to be shaking their heads after Toronto trailed the Spurs 38-19 after the first quarter. From there the writing was on the wall and the Raps ended up getting blown out 125-107 marking the eighth time in 10 games that they have failed to cover the spread. Toronto has now played over the total in five of seven, having allowed at least 115 points in four of those games.
Milwaukee, meanwhile, has won and covered in each of its last five games and now owns a sparkling 21-14-2 record against the spread to go along with the NBA-best 26-10 straight up record. The Bucks also lead the Association in scoring (117 points per game), offensive rebounding, and defensive field goal percentage.
Toronto Raptors
The best news to come out of San Antonio for Toronto was that point guard Kyle Lowry (back) practiced with the team and was briefly upgraded to questionable even though he didn’t suit up. Lowry has missed the last five games and it’s no coincidence that Toronto has just one win over that span. It sounds as though Lowry was giving a real push to play against DeRozan, but now appears unlikely that he plays in Milwaukee. The Raps have dropped each of their last three matchups with the Bucks straight up and against the spread.
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks made short work of the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, putting up 43 points in the first quarter while all five starters finished with at least 19 points in a 144-112 win that easily covered the big 13.5-point spread. Milwaukee didn’t have to dig very deep for the victory either. None of the club’s starters played more than 22 minutes. The 144-point outburst tied a season-high for the Bucks, while Giannis Antetokounmpo put up 16 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists in just over 19 minutes of work.
