Brooklyn Nets vs Toronto Raptors Picks and Predictions Dec 14
Brooklyn Nets vs Toronto Raptors Betting Preview
WagerTalk NBA handicapper Andy Lang offers his Brooklyn Nets vs Toronto Raptors betting preview for Tuesday, December 14. At the time of posting, the Nets have opened as an 8.5-point home favorite over the visiting Raptors, with the total sitting at 216 points.
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Brooklyn Nets vs Toronto Raptors Predictions
- Brooklyn Nets -8.5 vs Toronto Raptors
- Total: 216 Points
- The Nets have failed to cover the point spread in each of their last seven home games.
The 13-14 Toronto Raptors travel to Brooklyn for a showdown with 19-8 Nets at Barclay’s Center on Tuesday night. The Raptors are playing the second game of a back-to-back, after flogging the Sacramento Kings 124-101 on Monday night. The Nets handled business in their last game without James Harden, as they beat the Pistons 116-104 in Detroit on Sunday night. Brooklyn beat Toronto 116-103 at home in their first head-to-head meeting in early November.
The Toronto Raptors come into this game in decent form, they have won 4 of their last 5 games after making the Kings bend the knee last night. It was a true team effort as 9 players scored double digits. Fred VanVleet is the team leader in both points with 19.7 a game and assists with 6.4 per game. Rookie sensation Scottie Barnes leads in the team in rebounds with 8.3 a game.
However, the Raptors’ offense has been far from impressive as they only score 105.1 points a game, ranking them 25th in the association. In order to beat teams the caliber of the Nets, the Raptors will have to rely on their greatest asset, team defense. Toronto in 6th in points allowed, with only 104.4 points allowed a game.
The Nets will be trying to avoid letting this game be a look ahead spot, as they have a date with the Philadelphia 76ers who are back to full strength on Thursday. Brooklyn has won two straight and won 3 of 4 games on their 4 game road trip. In Sundays win against Detroit, Kevin Durant scored a NBA season high 51 points on 16-of-31 shooting to go along with 9 assists and 7 rebounds.
The Nets currently sit 1.5 games ahead of the surging Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference. The Nets will always be able to score and keep up offensively for as long as James Harden and Kevin Durant are on the court. However, what’s truly impressive about this Nets team is their improvements on defense. They are 5th in defensive rating and allow the 11th least points a game to their opposition.
The Raptors really excel on short rest, they are 5-1 against the spread on the second leg of their last 6 back-to-backs. The Nets are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 home games, while the Raptors are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games against Brooklyn. The under is 5-1 in the Raptors last 6 games and 12-5-1 in the Nets last 18 home games.
My favorite play in this one is the under, both teams have stepped up defensively and the Raptors play at the 3rd slowest pace in the league. If I had to bet a side it would be the Raptors +8.5, however not a strong enough feeling to make it official.
We are looking at Patty Mills under 12.5 points as our player prop. Mills has scored less than 13 points in 6 of his last 8 games. The Raptors allow the second least points to opposing point guards, allowing just over 20 points a game. A good portion of those point guard points will inevitably go to James Harden and Kevin Durant has been on a scoring tear of late. A defensive game where points are at a premium is expected.
Official Play: UNDER 216
Official Player Prop: Patty Mills UNDER 12.5 Points
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Brooklyn Nets vs Toronto Raptors Analysis from The GoldSheet
Brooklyn managed to take care of business in Detroit on Sunday even with James Harden taking the day off. Fortunately, Kevin Durant was recently rested and carried the load with a 51-point performance and the Nets took out Detroit thanks to a 30-13 4th-Q surge which was enough to cover the depressed number. One warning signal from that game with the Nets is that Brooklyn PF Paul Millsap was also absent, but he was missing due to entering Covid protocols, and we’ve learned it’s rarely the case that such a diagnosis is restricted to a single player. Toronto is just 3-7 vs. the points last 10 as a dog, and they had trouble in first meeting with the Nets, being outrebounded 48-35 and yielded 17 of 38 treys (45%), while making only 7 of 30 (23%) from beyond the arc. Nets 9-4 to the “under” at home this season and has 0 covers in their last 7 home games.
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