San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors will face each other in Wednesday’s action of the NBA. The hosts stopped their losing streak, and they want to build up on their latest performance. The away side cannot be happy with its form, and they are looking forward to bouncing back.
San Antonio wants to stay in the playoffs race, and they need a streak of positive results. The home side will try to book the second win in a row in front of the home fans. On the other hand, Toronto hasn’t played well in the past few matches. The visitors search for a getaway from the losing run, and they want to stay in the race for the 2nd spot in their division.
San Antonio Spurs – Can they win again?
After suffering four straight defeats, the Spurs managed to book an important victory in their latest match. They were better than the Lakers in the 117-110 win, which helped them improve to a 25-40 record in the Southwest division. However, they are still fourth on the standings, being two wins behind the Pelicans. Nevertheless, if San Antonio repeats its excellent 54.8 field goal percentage, they can hope for more positive results. Dejounte Murray led them to the victory by scoring 26 points and having ten rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and one block for 38 minutes on the court.
He has also been the most productive player for the Spurs this season with 20.5 points, 9.4 assists, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game on average. Keldon Johnson has contributed with 15.9 pts and six rebs, while Jakob Poeltl controls the paint with 9.1 rebounds per match. On the other hand, Romeo Langford won’t make an appearance on Wednesday evening, while Lonnie Walker IV, Devin Vassell, and Keita Bates-Diop are listed as questionable.
Expected Line-Up: Dejounte Murray, Joshua Primo, Doug McDermott, Keldon Johnson, Jakob Poeltl
with best odds
Toronto Raptors – Can they break their losing streak?
Three defeats in a row didn’t help the Raptors challenge for the top-two finish in the Atlantic Division. They are now at a 34-30 record, being five wins behind the Boston Celtics but having two games in hand. It’s going to be their second consecutive road match, and Toronto will be hoping for a better result than a 104-96 defeat against the Cavaliers last time. The Raptors had a poor 39.4 field goal percentage, while their bench players produced only eight points in the game.
Pascal Siakam leads Toronto’s offense with 21.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, five assists, and 1.3 steals per contest. Fred VanVleet has also been pretty productive with 21.4 pts, 6.9 assists, 4.5 rebs, and 1.6 steals per game on average. Gary Trent Jr. has 17.9 pts, while OG Anunoby averages 17.5 points per match. Regarding the roster depth, Toronto will also face a couple of selection issues. Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby, and Malachi Flynn are out of the contest for this clash.
Expected Line-Up: Dalano Banton, Gary Trent Jr., Scottie Barnes, Chris Boucher, Pascal Siakam
Expert Pick #1 – San Antonio Spurs +1.5 @-110
Both teams will face selection issues on Wednesday evening, but I believe the hosts are closer to success. The Raptors will likely miss Fred VanVleet, although he started training after the knee injury. Therefore, I’ll back San Antonio to cover as my first pick.
Expert Pick #2 – Under 229.5 @-110
Toronto has usually been involved in low-scoring games on the road this season, and 12 of the last 17 stayed under the margin. Since some of the productive players won’t make appearances here, I don’t expect more than 229 points. That’s why I’ll take the Under as my second bet.
Expert Pick #3 – Toronto Raptors Under 115.5 @-115
Consequently, I don’t see Toronto producing more than 115 points here. They failed to do so on the previous four occasions, and they remained double-digit in the last two. I’m going with this one as the third pick at a bit lower odds than the first two.
