The Toronto Raptors head West to face a fellow bottom-feeder on Friday night, the Utah Jazz.
The pregame narrative: Neither of these teams play particularly good defence so I’m banking the over on the game total in this +360 same-game parlay. The SGP includes picks on Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler.
Check out my Raptors vs. Jazz SGP predictions for March 14.
Raptors vs. Jazz predictions
Parlay: Over 234 points | Markkanen 18+ points | Kessler to record a double-double (+360)
Over 234 points (-113): This goes against the recent trend of the Raptors, who have gone under this total in five of their past six games.
The opposite can be said for Utah, though. The club has surpassed this total in five of its last seven.
If I look at this game from a broader view, it’s between two bottom-10 defences with a load of injuries, especially on the Toronto side.
While the organizations are looking to tank, the young guys and players on two-way contracts will be looking to play well and secure a permanent spot on an NBA roster.
It’s difficult picking a side here with all the chaos among the lineups, but I feel good predicting a lot of points in this matchup.
NBA SGP legs
Markkanen 18+ points (-159): The Finnish forward didn’t play in Utah’s previous meeting with the Raptors due to injury, but he’s been good when available.
- Markkanen has scored 17-plus points in five of his past seven games and at least 20 four times during that span.
- He’s also scored 22-plus points in all four games vs. the Raptors as a member of the Jazz.
Since the injury bug has hit the Raptors hard, opposing power forwards have taken advantage.
Over the past 30 days, Toronto has allowed the eighth-most points to the position (23.96), per Fantasy Pros.
The Raptors could also be without Scottie Barnes (questionable) and Jakob Poeltl (out), two key pieces on defence.
Kessler to record a double-double (-143): Kessler is a beast on the glass, which was evident in a March 7 contest against the Raptors. He had 25 rebounds.
The big man has tallied double-digit rebounds in 12 of 14 games since Feb. 1, averaging a league-high 14.9 over that time.
He’s also averaging 12.9 points in that span. He has just seven double-doubles in that month and a half but fell short by one basket or rebound four different times.
Kessler has a high floor as both a scorer and rebounder right now and I’m looking to jump in while Poeltl is absent for Toronto.
Raptors vs. Jazz predictions made at 12:53 p.m. ET on 03/14/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.