On the front end of a home back-to-back, the Toronto Raptors host the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
The latest: Luka Doncic (personal) is out tonight for the Lakers, and as a result, Toronto finds itself as a slight favourite at Scotiabank Arena. The Raptors have won eight straight home games dating back to the start of November.
Check out these Lakers vs. Raptors prop picks for the game on Dec. 4, featuring Scottie Barnes, Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton.
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Lakers vs. Raptors prop picks
Best bet: Reaves over 41.5 points/rebounds/assists (-125)
Doncic’s absence is the driving force behind this play.
The 26-year-old point guard leads the NBA in scoring (35.3 PPG) while also leading the Lakers in rebounds (8.9 RPG) and assists (8.9 APG). That’s a lot of vacated productivity.
Enter Reaves, who has been far more than just a backcourt sidekick for Doncic.
Through 17 games, Reaves is averaging 28.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.6 assists. Those are all career highs.
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With an average of 40.4 PRA per game, Reaves has the potential to clear this mark in any game. But he’s capable of going nuclear when Doncic is wearing street clothes.
Look at Reaves’ output in three games without Doncic this season:
- at Kings (Oct. 26): 51 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists
- vs. Trail Blazers (Oct. 27): 41 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists
- at Timberwolves (Oct. 29): 28 points, 1 rebound, 16 assists
So Reaves has 45+ PRA in all three games without Doncic this season. That makes the over on this 41.5-PRA line look quite enticing.
LeBron James is still a factor for L.A., but not nearly as much as in the past. He has scored fewer than 20 points in four of his five games so far, and should let Reaves drive the bus on offence.
Key stat: In his past four games, all with Doncic, Reaves went 3-1 vs. this prop while shooting 15-for-26 (57.7%) from 3-point range.
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Additional NBA prop predictions
Barnes over 7.5 rebounds (-117): With both teams’ leading rebounders out tonight, Barnes should make a solid contribution on the glass.
And really, for a guy averaging 7.9 RPG this season, cashing this prop would’ve been well within his grasp anyway.
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I’m just more emboldened to back the star forward with Doncic (8.9 RPG) and Jakob Poeltl (8.3 RPG) sitting on the sidelines.
Barnes is 11-11 vs. this rebounding total, and he has 10+ boards in three of his past five games.
In five career matchups vs. the Lakers (all since March 2022), Barnes is 4-1 vs. this prop.
Ayton to record a double-double (+105): Ayton is yet another player who should be more productive in the wake of Doncic and Poeltl’s absences.
The 7-footer is averaging a career-low 8.6 rebounds, but it’d be no surprise to see that number tick up tonight.
- In four games this season without Doncic, Ayton is averaging 21.0 points and 10.8 rebounds. He had three double-doubles in those matchups.
- Ayton has double-doubles in four of his past seven games overall, with 16.1 PPG and 10.3 RPG in that span.
According to Fantasy Pros, the Raptors allow the 11th-most rebounds to opposing centres (14.44/game).
Lakers vs. Raptors prop picks made at 9:40 a.m. ET on Dec. 4, 2025.
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Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.