The Toronto Raptors are back in action, this time as huge road underdogs against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The pregame narrative: Toronto has been a great ATS team despite its horrible win-loss record. I’ll take the Raps to cover as teased-up underdogs alongside prop bets on Ja Morant and Zach Edey.
Check out my Raptors vs. Grizzlies same-game parlay predictions for Dec. 26.
Raptors vs. Grizzlies predictions
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Parlay: Raptors +14.5 + Morant over 19.5 points + Edey over 8.5 rebounds (+265)
Raptors +15.5 (-182): Toronto (7-23) has the third-worst win percentage in basketball but has mastered the “competitive loss.”
The Raps are 19-10-1 ATS which includes an 8-6 ATS record as road underdogs.
They are missing some players — Jakob Poeltl, Bruce Brown and Immanuel Quickley are out while Jamal Shead is questionable — but that’s been the case all season.
Memphis is finding its footing and owns a solid 20-10 record but Toronto has covered this number in 27 of 30 games this season.
I’ll happily bank a boatload of points with the Raptors.
SGP legs
Morant over 19.5 points (-230): Morant averaged north of 25 points per game in each of the last three seasons and it’s only a matter of time before he gets back there.
The point guard is playing a career-low 28.1 minutes per night and is averaging his fewest field goal attempts (16.2) since his sophomore campaign.
But that’s mainly due to Memphis handling him with kid gloves after an injury-riddled 2023-24.
We’ve seen flashes of the old Morant lately as he’s scored 20-plus in four of his last five.
The outlier was a nine-point outing against the Golden State Warriors where he only played 17 minutes in a blowout victory.
If the Raptors keep this close as I predict, he should breeze by this line.
Edey over 8.5 rebounds (-127): Toronto ranks fifth in rebounding rate but Edey should feast with Poeltl sidelined.
The Raptors average 45.8 rebounds per game with Poeltl and 39.3 in the four games he missed. Check out how opposing centers did in those contests:
- Isaiah Hartenstein: 16 rebounds
- Day’Ron Sharpe: Nine rebounds
- Alperen Sengun: 10 rebounds
- Karl-Anthony Towns: 10 rebounds
The 7-foot-4, 305-pound Torontonian is only averaging 7.5 rebounds per game but we’ve seen an increase month over month.
Edey is averaging 9.5 boards per game in December and has cleared this total in four of his last five games.
Picks made at 10:25 a.m. ET 12/26/2024.
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.