On Saturday, the Toronto Raptors welcome another Western Conference powerhouse in the Dallas Mavericks.
The pregame narrative: Toronto lost by 37 points to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday but I feel good about the Raptors putting in a better effort tonight and covering a teased-up spread. I’m including prop picks on Scottie Barnes and Dereck Lively to close out the parlay.
Check out my Mavericks vs. Raptors same-game parlay predictions for Dec. 7.
Mavericks vs. Raptors predictions
Go to full NBA betting markets
Parlay: Raptors +12.5 + Barnes over 1.5 threes + Lively over 7.5 rebounds (+295)
Raptors +12.5 (-190): Thursday’s 129-92 blowout loss hasn’t made me forget how competitive the Raptors have been at home this season.
They were coming off four straight home wins over the Indiana Pacers (twice), Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat — all of which are formidable opponents.
Toronto has failed to cover this lofty spread just twice now in 11 games at Scotiabank Arena. The first time was against the Cleveland Cavaliers on opening night.
The Raps have a 6-5 home record despite being 7-16 overall which makes sense considering the youth on the squad.
The team plays hard every night and is more effective offensively at home, which has led to many competitive games.
Dallas has won seven straight on the road but only covered this spread once against the Washington Wizards.
SGP legs
Barners over 1.5 threes (-130): Since returning from injury, Barnes has been quite the volume shooter.
- He’s averaging 2.3 made 3s on 7.3 attempts over the past eight games.
- Barnes made 2+ threes in seven of those contests.
Although the efficiency isn’t where it needs to be (31.5% over the last eight, 29.0% on the season), this leg is more about volume, which has been there consistently.
Barnes has taken five or more threes in eight straight games and I don’t see any reason why that would change on Saturday.
Lively over 7.5 rebounds (-175): The second-year pro has seen his role expand as the season rolls on.
Jason Kidd is trusting Lively more than ever, and the youngster’s rebounding numbers have been great.
- Lively had 10+ rebounds in back-to-back games and cleared this line in three of the last four.
- The big man played a season-high 32 minutes on Dec. 3 against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Lively only played 19 minutes last time out, but that was due to Dallas’ 36-point blowout win over the Wizards.
The good news is he still managed to pull down 11 rebounds. If Jakob Poeltl (questionable) is good to go Saturday, Lively’s size will be needed to compete on the glass.
Toronto allows the ninth-most rebounds per game to opposing centres (15.4).
Picks made at 9:19 a.m. ET 12/07/2024.
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.