Toronto Raptors vs. Washington Wizards Spread: NBA Odds, Prediction
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Charlie Grant
The Raptors hope to avoid falling victims to a wounded Wizards side for a second time. John Wall is out but that doesn’t mean Toronto backers shouldn’t be worried about Washington on Thursday night.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
The Raptors won but failed to cover as 6.5-point favorites Tuesday night at the ACC against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The result drops Toronto to 2-6 against the spread in its last eight games and 26-23 ATS on the season. The Dinos are still in second place in the Eastern Conference at 34-15 straight up behind only the Boston Celtics. DeMar DeRozan and Co. are 3-0 SU and ATS in their last three trips to D.C.
The Wiz are coming off an impressive 102-96 home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday. Washington improves to 28-22 SU and 22-28 ATS on the season. The Wizards have been one of the better under plays in the Association but the over is 7-3 in their last 10 games.
Toronto Raptors
DeRozan gets unfairly labelled as a one-dimensional player – someone skilled at getting buckets but not much else. He’s rounded out his game quite a bit over the past few years as shown over the last month with his ability to distribute the basketball. DeRozan racked up eight assists against the T-Wolves and averaged 5.9 helpers per game in January. Toronto Sun reporter Ryan Wolstat pointed out on Twitter that the mark is a career-high in a month for DeRozan.
Washington Wizards
Washington All-Star point guard John Wall is expected to miss the next six weeks because of a knee injury, but the squad’s supporters shouldn’t lose hope. The Wizards are 7-5 SU and 8-4 ATS in contests without Wall this season including the latest victory over the Thunder. Bradley Beal scored 21 points and, more importantly, dished out nine assists against OKC. There could be good value on backing Washington if Beal can continue to facilitate the offense in Wall’s absence and find easy looks for his teammates. The All-Star shooting guard dropped 38 points on the Raptors in a win at Toronto earlier this season when Wall was on shelf.
