The Toronto Raptors begin their season on Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The pregame narrative: It could be a long season for Raptors fans. Toronto’s 30.5 win total is among the lowest in basketball and I expect Cleveland to win and cover at Scotiabank Arena. That said, Scottie Barnes should still have a solid night.
Check out our Raptors picks vs. the Cavaliers for the October 23 game in Toronto.
Raptors picks vs. Cavaliers
Go to full NBA betting markets.
Best bet: Cavaliers -5 (-110)
I gave out five pre-season NBA futures bets to make and one was the under on Toronto’s team total.
This team was awful down the stretch last season and it’s hard to imagine much will change. The Raptors had the worst net rating post-trade deadline (-11.3), ranking 24th in field goal percentage (45.7) and 27th in rebound rate (47.0)
Toronto went 7-24 in that span and lost 15 straight games at one point.
Cleveland has bonafide studs in its starting lineup and a pretty impressive bench, too. The Raps have Barnes playing alongside Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett but not much else to work with.
Outside of those three players and Jakob Poeltl, nobody on Toronto’s’ current roster averaged more than 10.0 PPG last season.
The last time the Raptors played the Cavaliers was two days after the trade deadline. They lost 119-95 on home court and shot 40.2% from the field and 29.0% from deep.
Key stat: Toronto was 5-18 ATS as a home underdog last season, which was the third-worst cover rate in the NBA.
Quick pick
Barnes over 27.5 points and rebounds (-127): If there’s a silver lining for Raptors fans it’s that Barnes is leading the charge.
The 2021 No. 4 overall pick is entering his fourth season and is the team’s undisputed top dog. Barnes averaged career highs in points (19.9), rebounds (8.2), and assists (6.1) last year and is expected to take another leap with Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby long gone.
The Cavaliers struggled to defend small forwards last season, allowing the eighth-most points and fourth-most rebounds per game to that position, according to Fantasy Pros.
Barnes only cleared this line in one of three games against the Cavs but it was after the Siakam and Anunoby trades. He had a 24-point triple-double in that contest and played a team-high 35 minutes.
In the two games prior, Barnes averaged 17.5 points and 7.0 rebounds (24.5 P+R), which is just a couple of baskets away from clearing this total.
Picks made at 11:06 a.m. on 10/21/24.
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.