Follow Us
The Golden State Warriors will play the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night in an inter-conference matchup. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series with a Warriors-Raptors prediction and pick.
The Warriors and Raptors will play on Saturday as Golden State runs out a skeleton squad on the second game of the back-to-back. After beating the Celtics on Friday, the Warriors appear poised to rest most of their regulars in Saturday’s contest. Toronto lists a couple of key players as questionable, but comes into this one mostly healthy compared to the rest of the NBA right now. With all of the Warriors key guys resting, the Raptors come into this matchup as a large home favorite.
Here is how FanDuel has set the Warriors-Raptors odds for this Saturday NBA matchup.
NBA Odds: Warriors-Raptors Odds
Golden State Warriors +9 (-110)
Toronto Raptors -9 (-110)
Over 208 (-110)
Under 208 (-110)
*Watch NBA Games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)
Why The Warriors Could Cover The Spread
The Warriors will rest Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Andrew Wiggins and Otto Porter Jr. Saturday night. This obviously leaves the Warriors as big underdogs vs. a mostly healthy Raptors group. Still, do not count Golden State out in terms of a cover. They still have a winning DNA and might be able to at least put together a good defensive game plan vs. a Raptors group that isn’t always clicking on all cylinders offensively. Guys like Damion Lee, Moses Moody, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Kevon Looney, and Gary Payton II will look to pull off the upset on the road vs. a middling Toronto team that has been a little better of late.
Jordan Poole remains in the league’s health and safety protocols and will be out for this game. The Warriors are 10-3 on the road this season and 18-9-2 against the spread overall. After their win on Friday night, the Warriors sit atop the NBA with a 24-5 record. Golden State is 4-5-1 against the spread in their last ten games. The Warriors are 7-5-1 vs. the spread on the road this season.
Why The Raptors Could Cover The Spread
Toronto sits at 13-15 and near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. As the home team who is actually playing key players, they have to feel like they really need to win this game. Precious Achiuwa, OG Anunoby and Khem Birch are questionable for the Raptors, but they are otherwise healthy. Fred VanVleet leads Toronto in scoring and assists as he has taken over the reins of the team following the departure of Kyle Lowry to Miami. Despite their sub-.500 record, Toronto has won four out of their last six games.
The Raptors are 6-9 at home this season and 13-15 against the spread. Toronto is 5-10 vs. the spread on their home floor so far in 2021-22. The Raptors have covered the spread in five of their last six games overall.
Final Warriors-Raptors Prediction & Pick
Take the Raptors to win and cover in this one. The Warriors will not be playing anything that even closely resembles their real team, so it is hard to know exactly what to expect. They could hang around for a while, but Toronto should pull away eventually. The Raptors have been playing better of late and will look to take advantage of a shorthanded Warriors team on Saturday night.
Final Warriors-Raptors prediction & pick: Raptors -9 (-110)