I’m now 4-3 in Raptors picks as Memphis (+2.5) was downed by Toronto 96-92 on Wednesday evening. Tonight the Raptors play at home versus the 7-5 Milwaukee Bucks.
Toronto Raptors (10-2) @ (5-6) Cleveland Cavaliers
Probable starting line-ups:
Toronto – PG – Kyle Lowry SG – DeMar DeRozan C – Jonas Valanciunas SF – Terrence Ross PF – Amir Johnson
Cleveland – Point Guard – Kyrie Irving Shooting Guard – Shawn Marion C- Anderson Varejao Small Forward – LeBron James Power Forward – Kevin Love
Stats Leaders:
Toronto – PPG – DeMar DeRozan 20.0 RPG – Jonas Valanciunas 8.1 APG – Kyle Lowry 5.8
Cleveland – Points Per Game – LeBron James 25.5 Rebounds Per Game – Kevin Love 10.2 Assists Per Game – LeBron James 6.5
Team Scoring: (with league ranking in parentheses)
Toronto – PF – 106.7 (3rd) PA – 94.9 (5th)
Cleveland – Points For (Per Game) – 102.5 (12th) Points Against (Per Game) – 102.0 (23rd)
Overview:
The Toronto Raptors have won 3 straight games. Last night they were victorious at home 124-83 versus the Bucks. Shooting guard Louis Williams came off the bench to led the team in scoring with 22 points on 7 of 14 shooting in 19 minutes. Point guard Kyle Lowry netted 20 points on 6 of 10 shooting in 26 minutes of action. Lowry also grabbed 9 rebounds and dished out 5 assists. Center Jonas Valanciunas had a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. He was 6 of 7 from the field and 6 of 6 from the foul line in 21 minutes. Small forward Terrence Ross chipped in with 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting in 24 minutes. The team shot 52.3% from the field, 60% from the 3 point line, and 79.2% from the free throw line. The Raptors had a big advantage on the boards as they out-rebounded the Bucks 57-30. In the 2nd and 3rd quarters combined they out-scored Milwaukee 64-30. Toronto is 2-1 on the road this season. Tonight is the 2nd game of a back to back. They are 1-1 in the 2nd game this season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have dropped 3 in a row to fall to 5-6 on the season. Last night they were defeated 91-78 at Washington. Small forward LeBron James and point guard Kyrie Irving led the team in scoring with 22 points apiece. James was 8 of 21 from the field in 39 minutes. Irving was 7 of 16 from the field in 41 minutes. He also pulled down 6 rebounds. Center Anderson Varejao was the only other Cav to score in double figures as he chipped in with 10 points. He also grabbed 9 rebounds. He was 4 of 10 from the field in 25 minutes. The team shot 36% from the field, 22.2% from the 3 point line, and 78.3% from the foul line. They were out-rebounded 45-41. At the half the team was down 55-42. Cleveland is 2-3 at home this season. Tonight is the 2nd game of a back to back. They are 2-1 in the 2nd game this season.
Last season Toronto won 2 of 3 meetings with Cleveland.
Prediction:
As strong as the Raptors have looked and as weak as the Cavs have looked in their last 3 games something tells me that LeBron and the Cavs will be motivated to knock off the top team in East (currently). If this game was in Toronto I would be picking the Raptors.Take the Cavaliers -3.0 (1.90) (Bet365)
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