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The red-hot Brooklyn Nets will put their four-game winning streak on the line as they tip off with an inconsistent Toronto Raptors squad. Join us for our NBA odds series where our Nets-Raptors prediction and pick will be made.
Fresh off of a dominating 112-100 win over the Washington Wizards, the Nets are hoping that having four days off since the last time they played won't hinder their scorching play on the court. Now boasting a 17-12 record, it appears that the Nets are starting to find their footing at the quarter mark of the regular season.
When it comes to the Raptors, Toronto is still attempting to click on all cylinders as they have not been able to stay fully healthy up to this point. Because of this, the raptors have dropped three in a row for the first time all season and are desperate for a win more than ever. Luckily, Toronto has been quite formidable at home this season with a 10-4 record despite being bested by the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday 124-123.
Here are the Nets-Raptors NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NBA Odds: Nets-Raptors Odds
Brooklyn Nets: -1.5 (-114)
Toronto Raptors: +1.5 (-106)
Over: 225 (-110)
Under: 225 (-110)
Why The Nets Could Cover The Spread
Winners in eight of their last nine matchups overall, it is becoming evident that the Nets are close to operating at full strength. While more Kyrie drama was to blame for Brooklyn's sluggish start out of the gates, they are now playing like a squad that has had championship expectations ever since Kevin Durant came into town.
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In order to send the Raptors spiraling by covering the spread and ultimately winning the game, Brooklyn's familiarity with Toronto will certainly come into play. Believe it or not, but the Nets have already battled with the Raptors three times before the New Year and are looking for a season-sweep in the fourth meeting. In the previous matchups, Brooklyn put the clamps down on Toronto's shooters as the Raptors failed to score more than 110 points in any of those contests. On paper, the Nets have the ability to leave teams speechless as they rank within the top ten of NBA defensive efficiency and are only surrendering 111 PPG.
Not to mention, but Brooklyn is accomplishing all of this winning without even being extremely effective on the offensive side of the floor. For starters, the Nets rank only 17th in the NBA in scoring at 112.5 points per game and have struggled to remain consistent. Fortunately, Brooklyn has proved that they can be effective from outside with a 37% shooting clip from beyond the arc.
The one player that will have the largest impact in this one will be Kyrie Irving, who is playing basketball without any distractions for the first time in a while. With his sole focus on the game at the moment, Irving is running the offense exceptionally and Toronto will most likely have troubles slowing down Kyrie and KD for a full 48 minutes.
Why The Raptors Could Cover The Spread
Yes, while the Raptors' poor play is a glaring issue, this is still a talented roster that is capable of making some noise not only tonight but also during the rest of the regular season. Indeed, injuries have come back to bite Toronto in the behind as a couple of their starters remained sidelined, but this should be no excuse.
Clearly, the heartbeat of this squad has been point guard Fred VanVleet, who has become one of the more solid playmaking floor generals that the NBA has to offer. After an incredible college career at Wichita State, VanVleet has taken his game to the next level in the pros and is leading the Raptors with 6.4 assists per game. No doubt, the 28-year-old guard did all he could on Wednesday by dropping a whopping 39 points on 52% shooting from the floor. Again, the Raptors will only go as far as VanVleet takes them this Friday evening.
The good news is that it seems that the Raptors are finally getting stellar play from the reigning rookie of the year in Scottie Barnes as he matched his career-best in points with 27 against the Kings which also included dishing out 10 assists. Toronto desperately needs contributors other than VanVleet to take care of business tonight, and Barnes could be that spark that gets them over the edge.
Last and certainly not least, be on the lookout for Toronto's three-point shooting to make or break them versus the Nets. After going 6-21 on Wednesday, the Raptors continue to struggle from trey land and must capitalize on hitting open threes if they want to defend their home court.
Final Nets-Raptors Prediction & Pick
Since the Nets replaced head coach Steve Nash with Jacque Vaughn, Brooklyn has amassed a 15-7 record. These are two teams that are trending in opposite directions, and it would be unwise to side with a Raptors squad that has their hands full even serving as the home team in this one.
Final Nets-Raptors Prediction & Pick: Nets -1.5 (-114)
