Suns vs. Raptors Prediction: NBA Odds, Point Spread
The Phoenix Suns, one of the most improved and best teams in the NBA this year are looking for the season sweep of the Toronto Raptors, who still have Kyle Lowry but not Norman Powell, when they meet in Tampa, Fla., on Friday. The Suns opened as 4.5-point favourites on the NBA odds.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
It was fairly easy to see in the Orlando bubble last summer that Phoenix was going to take a giant leap forward this season as the Suns were 8-0 in the regular-season portion of the bubble – the only unbeaten team there – and barely missed out on the playoffs. The off-season trade for future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul immediately turned the Suns into Western Conference contenders, although they are probably a year away from realistically winning the West.
On Jan. 6 in Phoenix, the Suns were 3-point favourites and beat the Raptors 123-115. The Suns were spectacular from three-point range, hitting 21 of 40 (52.5 per cent) and missed only two free throws in 24 attempts. All-Star Devin Booker had 24 points, while Paul had 12 points and eight assists, and former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton finished with 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Toronto got 32 points from Pascal Siakam, 24 from Kyle Lowry and 20 from OG Anunoby but not much from anyone else. The Dinos have won the past three at “home” in the series but trail it all-time 30-18.
While the Raptors are 7-3 straight up in the past 10 meetings, they are 2-8 against the spread.
Phoenix Suns
The Suns got caught in a clear trap game Wednesday, a night after an impressive 110-100 win in Miami. They lost 112-111 to a bad Orlando team. Evan Fournier hit the winning basket with 6.4 seconds remaining. Suns All-Star Devin Booker missed a reverse layup attempt at the buzzer. He finished with 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Phoenix’s road winning streak ended at seven in a row, its longest since 2006-07. Still, the Suns are an excellent 14-6 on the road. They fell to 22-6 overall when leading after three quarters. Before the loss, Phoenix had won 19 straight games when allowing fewer than 120 points. This will be the team’s first-ever game in Tampa. Suns guard Cameron Payne played for Toronto last preseason. Phoenix made no trades ahead of Thursday’s deadline. The Suns are 6-0 ATS in their past six after a loss.
Toronto Raptors
Toronto kept Kyle Lowry in a pretty big surprise move ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, but they did ship out another pending free agent, Norman Powell, to Portland for Rodney Hood and Gary Trent Jr. It’s too early to know if those two players will pass physicals, clear protocols, etc., to play Friday. That the Blazers already were in Florida (Miami) could speed things along, though. Trent Jr. should play a lot when ready. Lowry sure looked like a goner with the way he acted off the court and in the post-game press conference following Wednesday’s 135-111 upset victory over Denver, which ended Toronto’s nine-game skid. Centre Aron Baynes played 42 games with the Suns last season. The Raptors are 7-1 ATS in their past eight vs. teams with a winning record.
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