The Toronto Raptors travel to Texas to take on the Dallas Mavericks for the second time this season on Friday night. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series and make a Raptors-Mavericks prediction and pick.

The Raptors hold an overall record of 27-43, and they are 30-39-1 against the spread. Toronto is coming off a loss to the Chicago Bulls Thursday night.

The Mavericks stand at 41-29 overall and 35-35 against the spread. Dallas is coming off a blowout win over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Raptors-Mavericks odds.

NBA Odds: Raptors-Mavericks Odds

Dallas Mavericks -14 (-110)

Toronto Raptors +14 (-110)

Over 220 Points (-110)

Under 220 Points (-110)

Why The Raptors Could Cover The Spread

The Raptors season is coming to an uneventful end after an extremely disappointing year.

Toronto has nothing to play for but pride at this point, but we should never totally discount Nick Nurse's group.

Thursday night against the Bulls, Toronto's starting lineup consisted of Jalen Harris, Malachi Flynn, Stanley Johnson, Yuta Watanabe, and Khem Birch. Not exactly a star studded group, but they managed to avoid embarrassment in Chicago and only lost by 12. The Raptors missed the cover by two points, as the line was set at +10.5.

The stand-out performance for Toronto came from Johnson, who scored a career-high 35 points. Harris also recorded a career-high 17 points.

These guys aren't complete scrubs, and it shouldn't look like a JV vs. Varsity game tonight. If the Mavs don't take this seriously, this could get too close for comfort.

On the defensive end, the Raptors aren't going to lie down and die. Nurse and his squad are too prideful to immediately get blown out, no matter the situation.

Toronto actually finished in the top half of the league in most defensive stats this year. They were top 15 in least points allowed (13th), opponent field goal percentage (9th), steals (4th), blocks (4th) and turnovers forced (1st). It might not be a cakewalk for Luka Doncic and company, and Toronto should at least make Luka work for his buckets tonight.

Why The Mavericks Could Cover The Spread

While the Raptors have no playoff aspirations to fight for, the Mavericks are fighting to hold on to the fifth seed in the Western Conference.

The Mavericks need to win tonight to keep the Portland Trail Blazers off their back, as the Blazers own the tie-breaker after taking two of three from Dallas this season.

Although they might not come out and say it, the Mavericks would much rather face the Denver Nuggets in the first round without Jamal Murray than the Los Angeles Clippers. A win here goes a long way to solidifying the easier matchup.

It remains to be seen whether the Raptors will wave the white flag early tonight and rest all of their starters. Pascal Siakam, OG Anunoby, Kyle Lowry, and Fred VanVleet could all miss this matchup.

Assuming the Raptors do the sensible thing and don't risk their starters for a meaningless game, I have no idea how Toronto will score points tonight.

The Mavericks allow the eighth least points in the league, and hold opponents to the tenth lowest three-point percentage. This is trouble for the Raptors, who score almost exclusively from deep. A staggering 39.1% of the Raptors points come from beyond the arc, and without their top shooters, this offense is limited.

Add in the fact that Toronto allows opponents to shoot at the sixth highest clip from three in the NBA, and this could get ugly fast. If the threes start flying, and this is common in Raptors games, it wouldn't be a shock to see a 20-25 point dub for Dallas.

Final Raptors-Mavericks Prediction & Pick

The Raptors played an eight-man rotation last night, and three of those guys played 40 minutes plus. Now Toronto is forced to play a back-to-back set with a weaker rotation. I think the Raptors should put up a fight to start, but I'd be shocked to see them hang with a motivated Dallas team for 48 minutes. I'll lay the points with the Mavericks and expect them to make a statement tonight.

FINAL RAPTORS-MAVERICKS PREDICTION: DAL 113, TOR 94 (DAL -14)