Expect Nets to End Struggles vs Raptors

The Raptors (9-12 SU, 8-13 ATS) have won 22 of their last 24 meetings with Brooklyn, including a lopsided first-round sweep in last summer’s playoffs, but those Nets teams didn’t have Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving in the lineup. Brooklyn (14-9, 10-13) opened as a 5.5-point favorite.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

This is Brooklyn’s third straight game with a total in the 240s as oddsmakers try to keep up with the Nets’ high-scoring ways. This time, the number might be a bit high, at least judging by the early action. Money on the UNDER had driven the total down a couple of points by Friday morning.

Toronto News & Notes

Fred VanVleet was the talk of the NBA on Tuesday night after lighting up the Magic for 54 points in Toronto’s 123-108 win over the Magic. VanVleet hit 11 of his first 12 three-point attempts on the way to setting a league record for the most points scored in a game by a non-drafted player. VanVleet had actually struggled with his three-point stroke in his previous three outings, hitting just six of 25 attempts from behind the arc.

Kyle Lowry added a triple-double for the Raptors, who are starting to look more like the team that came within a win of its second straight Eastern Conference finals appearance last summer. Toronto is now 7-4 SU in its last 11 games after Sportsbook the campaign with eight losses in its first 10.

After missing the Raptors’ previous two games with a bruised quadriceps, Norman Powell returned to the lineup Tuesday and scored 23 points in 29 minutes. Powell should have the chance to put up decent numbers again Friday in the absence of starting power forward OG Anunoby, who remains sidelined with a left calf strain.

Brooklyn News & Notes

Nets games continued to be an ATM for OVER bettors on Tuesday as Brooklyn eclipsed the total for the 16th time in its last 17 games in a 124-120 win over the Clippers. The OVER 241.5 didn’t come without a sweat, however. With seven seconds left in regulation, the teams had combined for 237 points before five free throws and a layup nudged the game over the total.

Once again, most of the Nets’ offensive damage came from their star trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Brooklyn’s Big Three combined to score 90 points – 39 of them from Irving – and Harden collected his fourth triple-double in nine outings as a Net. Durant added 28 points on 11-for-13 shooting from the field.

Tuesday’s victory continued another Brooklyn trend: the team’s tendency to elevate its game against elite opponents. The Nets are now a perfect 9-0 SU this season against teams that made the playoffs a year ago, compared to 5-9 SU against non-playoff competition.

Betting Pick: Nets -5.5

Expect a statement performance by the Nets against a Toronto squad that hung 150 points on them when the teams last met in the Orlando bubble.