The Toronto Raptors hope to have Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka back in the lineup when they host the Utah Jazz Sunday evening. Toronto has gone 8-2 since losing the two veterans to injury three weeks ago. Utah has covered just one of the last 12 meetings.
Matchup Information
- Utah Jazz at Toronto Raptors (Matchup Report)
- Date/Time: Sunday, December 1, 6:00 PM ET
- TV Coverage: AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, Sportsnet One
- Sportsbook Odds: Raptors -3 | O/U 209.5 (Line History)
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Early action was on the underdog and the UNDER, moving those lines to +2.5 and 210, respectively. This is just the sixth time in Utah’s first 20 games that the Jazz has not been favored.
Utah News & Notes
The Jazz come into Toronto with momentum from a second-half comeback Friday in Memphis. Utah was staring a three-game losing streak directly in the face when it trailed the 5-13 Grizzlies by 15 points at the half, but the Jazz began the second half with an 18-2 run en route to a comfortable 103-94 win. Bojan Bogdanovic led the way with 33 points — 16 of them in the fourth quarter — while shooting 12 of 20 from the floor.
“We just needed to pick our level up,” said Utah coach Quin Snyder, whose team allowed just 39 points in the final two quarters. “We came out (in the second half) competitive and threw ourselves into the defense.” That defensive intensity had been lacking for a while, with Utah uncharacteristically allowing 107 points or more in eight of its previous nine games — going 4-5 ATS during that stretch as a result. Utah will need to continue that effort at the defensive end against a Raptors team that averaged 123 points in its two meetings with the Jazz last season.
Toronto News & Notes
Toronto could finally have Kyle Lowry and Serge Ibaka back in the lineup when it faces the Jazz. Not that the Raptors have needed them lately, leaning on their incredible depth to win eight of 10 games since the duo went down to injury Nov. 8 against New Orleans. Norman Powell is the latest Raptor to step up big in a Toronto victory on Friday, knocking down 12 of his 18 shots in the Raps’ 90-83 win at Orlando. Powell’s torrid shooting night, which included 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the third quarter, helped Toronto overcome a cold shooting night from team scoring-leader Pascal Siakam, who hit just four of his 22 attempts from the field.
Like Utah, the Raptors relied on their defense to overcome a halftime deficit. Toronto forced 24 turnovers and held Orlando to 34.6% shooting on the night, allowing just 12 points in the third quarter. The spread-covering win improved Toronto to a sizzling 24-4 ATS in its last 28 games when playing on one day’s rest.
Betting Pick: Raptors -3
Toronto has covered five straight and seven of its last 10 when favored by three points or less.
- The UNDER is 8-3 in Utah’s last 11 road games.
- Toronto is 24-4 ATS in its last 28 games when playing on one day’s rest.
- Utah is 1-11 ATS in the last 12 meetings.
