Tuesday’s NBA schedule begins with a meeting between the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets at 7:30 p.m. EST. The visitors are 5-5 but far outclass the rebuilding home team at 1-9, so where’s the betting value in this skewed matchup?
Find out with a Raptors vs. Nets prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Tuesday’s game.
Raptors vs. Nets prediction, preview
The Raptors aren’t a perfect basketball team by any means, but you can see the vision moving forward in a weak Eastern Conference. Brandon Ingram has provided a go-to shot-maker with 21.0 PPG though his three-point numbers haven’t come around yet, while Scottie Barnes plays his two-way role as always with 29.9 PPG and 4.9 AST in addition to a team-high 7.0 REB. RJ Barrett also sees a large role with 20.7 PPG and the second-most shot attempts, while Immanuel Quickley pitches in 14.4 PPG with a team-best 6.3 AST. Jakob Poeltl rounds out the starting five at center, while the bench largely consists of defensive-minded talents who hound opponents. Toronto ranks 11th in scoring with the 13th-best NETRTG, as well as the 10th-best TS% of any team.
The Nets aren’t as fortunate to be loaded with talent in the starting five. The rebuild in Brooklyn is only just getting underway, and while this team likely prefers lottery odds over wins, Cam Thomas’ (hamstring) absence still hurts and Day’Ron Sharpe (glute) also won’t play tonight. Michael Porter Jr. leads the charge with 23.3 PPG and a team-high 18.1 shot attempts, but no other player available tonight usually sees significant usage. Nic Claxton and Ziaire Williams are third and fourth in scoring with 14.6 and 10.0 PPG with the former pacing the rotation in rebounding with 7.0 per game. Terance Mann also starts to the tune of 8.1 PPG, while Egor Demin and Noah Clowney are also candidates in the starting five. However, the abundance of young talent (including five picks in this past draft) means little consistency — the Nets are dead-last in NETRTG at -15.3 while sitting 25th in TS%.
Raptors vs. Nets pick, best bet
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Raptors are -9.5 favorites on the road with -455 odds to win on the Moneyline. The Nets are a +350 underdog to win outright with a game total of 231.5.
These teams are yet to face off this season, but things don’t bode well for Brooklyn tonight. The Nets are just 1-9 and just won their first game six days ago against a shorthanded Pacers squad. So far this season, they’re tied for last in average scoring margin at -15.5 along with a fellow rebuilder in the Washington Wizards. Toronto generally plays close games and sits 13th at just +2.2, but that mark increased to +10.0 over the last three games. Against a very weak Nets squad without its second-leading scorer in Thomas, the Raptors should largely dominate in all phases tonight. They have far more talent than their opponent does heading into this cakewalk of a matchup, so barring a total collapse, expect the visitors to cover the -9.5 line.
