Many former teammates meet when the New York Knicks visit the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.
The pregame narrative: RJ Barrett used to play for the Knicks and has a good chance to go off against his former team. Additionally, I like prop picks on Jakob Poeltl and OG Anunoby.
Check out my Knicks vs. Raptors prop picks for Dec. 9.
Knicks vs. Raptors prop picks
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Best Bet: Barrett over 21.5 points (-130)
I would never miss the chance to get in on a revenge game narrative, but I also feel this is a great matchup for Barrett.
The Knicks boast one of the best offences in basketball, but they can be shaky on the defensive end.
New York allows the second-highest field goal percentage to opponents at the rim (46.7%), and Barrett excels at driving to the basket.
The Toronto native makes 6.1 shots per game at the rim at a 52.9% clip. That’s more makes in the area than 98% of the league, per 3stepbasket.com.
This is also a buy-low spot for Barrett. He went under this mark in two straight but cleared this line in the four previous games.
On top of that, he’s been balling at home.
Key stat: Barrett averages 27.7 points per game at Scotiabank Arena this season.
Quick pick
Poeltl over 10.5 rebounds (-125): Toronto is fourth in the league in rebounds per game (46.1) and Poeltl is a big reason why.
- He averages 11.6 RPG
- He’s cleared this line in 12/20 games dating back to Oct. 28
I believe Toronto will lean on the 7-footer in this matchup with the Knicks.
Karl-Anthony Towns is questionable to play but if he’s good to go, the Raps will need Poeltl in the low post contesting for rebounds.
If Towns is out, Poeltl will have a mismatch against the lesser experienced Jericho Sims.
Either way, I like his chances of clearing this modest line.
Anunoby over 2.5 threes made (+100): Here’s another chance to get in on the revenge narrative.
This pick becomes a lot juicier if Towns is out, so keep an eye on that throughout the day.
That’s because KAT shoots a high volume of threes per game (5.2) for a centre.
But even if Towns is in, Anunoby shoots his fair share of 3-pointers per game (5.9) and is hitting them at a 38.2% clip.
Anunoby has hit this line in two of the last three games, and I predict he shows out against the team that traded him away at the deadline last season.
Picks made at 11:19 a.m. ET 12/09/2024.
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.