The Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets meet at Scotiabank Arena on Thursday.
The pregame narrative: Toronto is a much better team at home, so I’m backing it against the spread over the Nets. I also like a prop pick on the Nets’ Cameron Johnson.
Check out my Raptors vs. Nets best bets for Dec. 19.
Raptors vs. Nets best bets
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Best bet: Raptors -3.5 (-113): The Raptors are 7-20 on the season but they do have a 6-8 home record.
Scottie Barnes is questionable despite originally being labelled out for “several weeks” by Shams Charania of ESPN.
I’m not sure Barnes will be cleared to go tonight, but his availability would have me feeling extra bullish about this pick.
After all, Toronto is 5-9 with Barnes and 2-11 without him.
I still like the Raptors in this spot with or without Barnes, though.
Brooklyn made a trade last week to send top ball handler Dennis Schroder to the Golden State Warriors. He averaged 18.4 points per game in 33.6 minutes as the Nets’ starting point guard.
That production is going to be hard to replace as the Nets received no healthy players back from the Warriors.
Brooklyn is also without Cam Thomas, who leads the Nets in scoring (24.7 PPG).
In the first game after the trade, the Nets lost by 29 at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Over their last seven games overall, the Nets are 1-6 and failed to cover this spread in each of those losses.
Brooklyn started the season strong but is in a huge downward spiral lately.
Key stat: Toronto is 10-3-1 ATS at home this season, which is the second-best record in the NBA.
Quick pick
Johnson over 21.5 points (-113): As bad as the recent situation has been for the Nets, it’s been great for Johnson.
Since the start of December, the sharpshooting wing is 4-1 against this line, playing 30-plus minutes in four of those five games.
In the first game after the Schroder trade, Johnson was tasked with more offensive responsibility and the result was a career-high 11 made free throws on 13 attempts.
He managed to cash this line in that contest against the Cavs despite playing his fewest minutes (27) since Nov. 25.
The Raptors play at a fast pace and own the 11th-worst defensive rating in the NBA so there should be ample opportunity for Johnson.
At the very least, he’s playing at a high level, averaging 22.4 points, 14.4 field goal attempts and 6.4 free throw attempts over this last five games. All those numbers are well above his season averages.
Picks made at 1:31 p.m. on 12/19/24.
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.