Home-and-home series are rare this late in the NBA season but with March Madness taking over the hoops world, fans are treated to a rematch between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Toronto Raptors tonight. These teams met in OKC on Wednesday and ended up needing overtime to decide a victor. The Raptors may have a winning record at home at 29-7 SU but they’ve been a losing spread bet as a home favorite at 16-20 ATS.
The Raptors opened as 2.5-point favorites with a total of 226.5.
Thunder vs Raptors Game Center
STANDOUT STATS
- Kyle Lowry is out for this game and missed the last matchup vs the Thunder on Wednesday. In 14 games without Lowry in the lineup, the Raptors are 9-5 SU and 5-0 in games that were played at home.
- The Raptors have a +8 point differential in home games this season but have not fared well against the spread vs West teams at 5-9 ATS in 14 games. For the season, the Raptors are 16-20 ATS in 36 home games.
- Since the all-star break, the Raptors’ offense has been on fire. They rank in the top 10 in points scored per game and rank first in three-point percentage (40.1 percent) on 35.5 attempts and are sixth in field-goal percentage (47.2 percent). Their defense has also been stellar, ranking in the top 10 in scoring defense and opposition field-goal and three-point percentage.
- The Thunder have been a horrible spread bet since the all-star break as they’ve gone 3-12 ATS in 15 games. In those games, they’re allowing the opposition to shoot 36.8 percent from behind the arc on 29.3 attempts. Their offense has also been struggling as they rank last in the NBA in field-goal percentage in that span (42.4) while ranking 28th in three-point percentage.
- Totals bettors will be in tough to find a lean in this game using trends, as the total has gone UNDER in five of the Thunder’s last six games (avg. combined score: 209.0) but OVER in the last six games in this matchup (avg. combined score: 230.5).
My Best Bet for Thunder vs Raptors
Thunder Moneyline
Again, another agonizing game to choose because I have seen the Thunder go into a lot of opposing teams’ arenas this season and shut it down. Even in the last outing vs the Raptors, the Thunder roared back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to send it to overtime.
The Raptors have been an unreliable spread bet at home, and without Kyle Lowry, the warning signs are there that they may be prone for a letdown by relying too heavily on Fred VanVleet and Jeremy Lin in the backcourt. I think the stats may be overblown lately on how the Thunder have fared since the all-star break and I think they correct those woes tonight.
