I’m now 4-4 in Raptors picks as Cleveland (-3) were defeated at home by Toronto 110-93 on Saturday evening. Tonight the Raptors play at home versus the 9-5 Phoenix Suns.
(9-5) Phoenix Suns @ (11-2) Toronto Raptors
Probable starting line-ups:
Phoenix – Point Guard – Eric Bledsoe Shooting Guard – Goran Dragic C- Miles Plumlee Small Forward – Marcus Morris Power Forward – Markieff Morris
Toronto – PG – Kyle Lowry SG – DeMar DeRozan C – Jonas Valanciunas SF – Terrence Ross PF – Amir Johnson
Stats Leaders:
Phoenix – Points Per Game – Isaiah Thomas 15.4 Rebounds Per Game – Miles Plumlee 6.5 Assists Per Game – Eric Bledsoe 5.5
Toronto – PPG – DeMar DeRozan 20.0 RPG – Jonas Valanciunas 7.8 APG – Kyle Lowry 6.0
Team Scoring: (with league ranking in parentheses)
Phoenix – Points For (Per Game) – 105.3 (4th) Points Against (Per Game) – 102.1 (23rd)
Toronto – PF – 106.9 (2nd) PA – 94.7 (6th)
Overview:
The Phoenix Suns arrive for tonight’s game winners of 4 in a row. On Saturday they were defeated at Indiana 106-83. Shooting guard Gerald Green led the team in scoring with 23 points on 8 of 15 shooting in 22 minutes off the bench. Point guard Isaiah Thomas netted 16 points on 5 of 11 shooting in 23 minutes off the bench. Power forward Markieff Morris scored 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting in 24 minutes. He also had 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists. Shooting guard Goran Dragic chipped in with 11 points on 5 of 12 shooting in 23 minutes. Point guard Eric Bledsoe finished with 9 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists in 25 minutes. The team shot 44.7% from the field, 38.7% from the 3 point line (12-31), and 90% from the free throw line (18-20). The Suns out-rebounded the Pacers 51-47. They held Indiana to 35 2nd half points. Phoenix is 5-2 on the road this season. Tonight is the final game of a 6 game road trip.
The Toronto Raptors are on a 4 game winning streak. On Saturday night they were victorious at Cleveland 110-93. Reserve shooting guard Louis Williams led the team in scoring with a career-high 36 points on 9 of 19 shooting in 29 minutes. He was 15 of 15 from the foul line. Point guard Kyle Lowry scored 23 points on 5 of 14 shooting in 37 minutes of action. He also dished out 8 assists. He was 11 of 12 from the free throw line. Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan netted 20 points on 7 of 18 shooting in 42 minutes. He also grabbed 5 rebounds. The team shot 40% from the field, 33.3% from the 3 point line (8-24), and 90.5% from the free throw line (38-42). They were out-rebounded 36-24. The Raptors trailed by 18 less minutes in to the 1st quarter but rallied to outscore the Cavs by 35 points the rest of the game. Toronto is 8-1 at home this season. They are 3-0 versus Western Conference opponents.
Last season Phoenix won both meetings with Toronto.
Prediction:
The Suns appear to be a team that should be able to hang with the Raptors, even in Toronto. With that being said the Raptors have really developed in to a strong home team so I think they’ll pull this one out. Take the Raptors -5.0 (1.95) (Bet365)
Tagged With : Toronto Raptors betting
