Toronto at Utah -2.5, O/U 242.5. 9:30pm ET
Assists, assists, assists, one of my favorite categories in the NBA. Toronto is in the top 5 offensively and Utah is in the top 10. In each of these teams’ last five games, Utah has averaged 29.6 per game and Toronto averaged 31.8. Even better news, each defense is way at the bottom defensively in this category. Toronto 27th at 31.6 per game and Utah 22nd at 28.8 per game. In the Raptors’ last 4 games the teams have combined for 65, 66 and 68 (twice) assists. Look, when you see a sky high of assists in a game, most the time these are easy buckets with very little defense being played. Which is why I landed on the over here in Salt Lake Friday night.
The last 3 head-to-head matchups between these two squads, they have averaged 247 points per game, with one of those just a few weeks ago. The Raptor offense may look a little different, no Anunoby via trade, no Poeltl via injury and the addition of Barrett and Quickley who have made an immediate impact gelling with the current offensive pieces on Toronto. The Raptors are 9-2 to the over in their last 11, have played 5 straight away games and 9 of 10 away from home. With no Poeltl for the time being, the Raptors gave up 126 and 132 points in a back-to-back in LA. The big men in Utah should be in for a field day tonight!
Yes, the Utah defense has been much improved as of late, but they still rank near the bottom in quite a few categories. Ranking 29th in FGAs at 95 per game and 23rd in 3PM at 15 per game. Toronto is shooting over 54% in their last 5 and 43% from downtown, and more importantly 3rd in turnovers. No dead possessions.
This game just screams points, which is why I will be backing over 242.5 with a unit upgrade!
Over 242.5 (-110) to win 1.25 units
If you’re looking for picks, please take a look at all of my available packages on the website. I always offer tons of deals and/or discounts for new customers. Reach out to me via my Twitter (X) @TrustRocco.
Let’s have fun and make some money. Good luck to US!
