Toronto Raptors vs. Brooklyn Nets Prediction, NBA Odds
The NBA championship-favoured Brooklyn Nets host the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday.
Brooklyn is a sizeable 8-point favourite to win on the NBA odds, with a total of 217.0.
Raptors vs. Nets NBA Betting Odds
This writer is surprised that the Nets remain the favourites to win the NBA title. With Kevin Durant and James Harden, they are obviously very good but they haven’t looked as good as, say, the Golden State Warriors or Phoenix Suns. The Chicago Bulls, another Eastern Conference contender, are 2-0 vs. the Nets this season. Oddsmakers may still think that All-Star guard Kyrie Irving will relent and get vaccinated and play at some point this season, but he has given no indication of that yet.
Tuesday is the second of four regular-season meetings between these teams. On Nov. 7 in Toronto, the Nets won 116-103 as Brooklyn blew it open by outscoring the Dinos 35-17 in the third quarter. Durant had 31 points, and Harden 28 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Brooklyn had a healthy Joe Harris then (11 points), but the guard is currently out injured. Fred VanVleet led Toronto with 21 points. OG Anunoby was healthy then and had 16 points and eight rebounds.
The Raptors lead the all-time series 58-43 but are 24-26 as the road team. Toronto is 5-1 against the spread in its past six as the road team.
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors won their second in a row Monday, 124-101 over the visiting Sacramento Kings and now will get a nice break after this game because Thursday’s home matchup vs. Chicago was postponed due to COVID issues on the Bulls. The Dinos scored 70 first-half points vs. the Kings and it was over. Overall, Toronto set season highs with 53 made field goals, 28 assists, 51 bench points and 68 points in the paint. Chris Boucher tied his season high with 17 points, while Yuta Watanabe had 12 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
Nine Raptors scored in double figures on Monday as the bench was used liberally with the game out of hand. Dalano Banton was held out of the second half due to a non-COVID illness and was not expected to travel to New York. The TV broadcast team Matt Devlin and Jack Armstrong said they may have been exposed to COVID-19 and would stay away from the team “for a period of time.” The Raptors are 1-11 ATS in their past 12 following a double-digit win.
Brooklyn Nets
Regarding the note about Kyrie Irving above, plugged-in NBA reporter Shams Charania wrote Monday that there is growing optimism Irving could make his return to the Nets this season. Obviously, it wouldn’t be imminent.
Brooklyn comes off its second straight win Sunday, 116-104 in Detroit playing without James Harden simply in a rest game. Harden should be in the lineup Tuesday. The Nets trailed entering the fourth but outscored the Pistons 30-13, opening the quarter with a 19-1 run. Kevin Durant finished with an NBA season-high 51 points – he took 31 shots; the rest of the starters combined attempted 31. It was KD’s seventh career 50-point game and surely not his last. He leads the NBA in scoring at 29.4 ppg. The Nets are 0-5 ATS in their past five at home.
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