The Toronto Raptors are back home after a winless five-game road trip.
The pregame narrative: For the first time in a while, it seems like Toronto is definitively worse than the Detroit Pistons. I expect Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris to clear their point and 3-point totals, respectively, at Scotiabank Arena.
Check out my Pistons vs. Raptors prop picks for Nov. 15.
Pistons vs. Raptors prop picks
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Best Bet: Cunningham over 23.5 points (-130)
Cunningham is elevating his game in every way this season, averaging career highs in points (23.8), rebounds (7.2), assists (8.5) and effective field goal percentage (51.0%).
I want to specifically target him as a scorer tonight, though, against an awful Raptors defence.
Toronto has the third-worst defensive rating in the NBA (118.4) and the seventh-highest opponent field goal percentage (47.8%).
One problem area for Toronto is the mid-range, which has become Cunningham’s office. Check out these stats, provided by Cleaning the Glass:
- The Raptors allow opponents to shoot 44.8% from the mid-range, which is the second-highest mark in the NBA.
- Cunningham takes 40.0% of his shots from the mid-range, which is in the 92nd among all NBA players.
The point guard is coming off a horribly inefficient performance against the Milwaukee Bucks where he scored 35 points on 13-of-34 shooting. But I love to see that volume as a prop bettor and will gladly back him against Toronto.
Key stat: Cunningham has cleared this mark in two of his last three games.
Quick pick
Harris over 1.5 threes (+100): Harris has always been an efficient 3-point scorer and I like his chances of nabbing a pair tonight.
The veteran is only shooting 29.1% from deep thanks to an awful start to the season. He went 3-for-20 in October but is scoring at a 37.1% clip beyond the arc since then.
That recent output aligns with his 37.3% average from 3-point range over the previous five seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Harris has cleared this mark in three of his last four games and plays a healthy 34.3 minutes a night.
The Raptors also allow opponents to cash in on 44.0% of their corner 3s (third-highest in NBA) and Harris ranks in the 78th percentile of corner-3-point takers.
Picks made at 10:16 a.m. ET 11/15/2024.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.