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TheĀ Toronto Raptors travel to the Pacific Northwest to continue their Western Conference road trip against the Portland Trail Blazers. Itās time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Raptors-Blazers prediction and pick.
The Raptors hold identical records both straight up and against the spread, standing at 2-7 in both. They will be playing the second game of a back-to-back after losing to the Golden State Warriors on Sunday.
The Blazers stand at 5-4 overall, but they are 4-5 against the spread. Portland is coming off a blowout win against the Sacramento Kings.
Hereās howĀ sportsbooks have set the opening Raptors-Blazers odds.
NBA Odds: Raptors-Blazers Odds
Toronto Raptors +5 (-110)
Portland Trail Blazers -5 (-110)
Over 230.5 Points (-110)
Under 230.5 Points (-110)
Why The Raptors Could Cover The Spread
Toronto is coming off a heartbreaking loss in Golden State less than 24 hours ago. The Raptors fought back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter, only to lose as Pascal Siakam's potential game-winner rimmed out.
Although the Raptors lost the game, there are some bright spots heading into this matchup.
Toronto's biggest weakness is its offense, while Portland's biggest defense is its defense.
Against a Blazers perimeter defense that has been spotty, Toronto will look to jump start its offense with their sharpshooting backcourt.
Fred VanVleet is shooting 40% from three, while Kyle Lowry is shooting 36% from deep.
Against an explosive Blazers offense, the Raptors need an effective game from deep to keep them in the contest. If the guards continue their accuracy, this game will be tight.
Why The Blazers Could Cover The Spread
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There is a clear pattern to the Trail Blazers' wins so far this season. If Portland's offense can reach around 110 points, they are very likely to win the game.
Of their five wins, they have only lost one game in which they broke the 110-point plateau. The sole loss came against the Warriors and Stephen Curry, who dropped a career high 62 points in the matchup.
Portland wins shootouts, which is deadly against a team playing a second consecutive road game.
The Raptors' defense is solid, but one has to imagine the team will have to deal with some fatigue tonight. This will be Toronto's third game in four days, and Siakam, Lowry, and VanVleet all logged 34+ minutes last night.
If the Raptors come out even a step slow, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum will be primed to take full advantage.
McCollum in particular has been red-hot, averaging 28 points on 45.5% shooting from the field. In the Blazers' last matchup against the Kings, it only took CJ 29 minutes to drop 37 points.
Obviously, the Kings' defense is not on the level of the Raptors, but when you factor in fatigue and that the Blazers should be aiming to make this a shootout from the tip, we could easily see a high scoring āZers victory.
Final Raptors-Blazers Prediction & Pick
Fully rested, the Raptors have not been impressive. On the fourth game of a grueling road trip, I expect them to be even less so. I predict the Blazers will gun the Raptors out of contention early tonight and cover the five-point spread with ease.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: POR 124, TOR 108
