A pair of struggling NBA squads collide on Sunday as the Toronto Raptors visit the Houston Rockets.
The pregame narrative: It’s hard to like much about either team’s recent efforts which is why I’ll gladly back Toronto plus a mittful of points. Immanuel Quickley’s matchup is appealing enough for me to take the over on his points total, and I’ll also slap the over of the game total onto this ticket as well.
Check out my Raptors vs. Rockets same-game parlay predictions for Feb. 9.
Raptors vs. Rockets predictions
Parlay: Raptors +12.5 + Quickley over 14.5 points + Over 225.5 points (+300)
Raptors +12.5 (-195): Backing the Rockets to win by a margin isn’t something I’m lining up to do.
Houston has lost six consecutive games with four of those losses coming by six-plus points.
The Rockets have only won two of their 20 games in 2025 by 13-plus points which makes this a difficult number to trust them to win by.
Both squads played on Saturday and it’s Toronto who’s actually been the better team to back ATS on zero days’ rest:
- Raptors are 6-3 ATS on zero days’ rest
- Houston is 4-5-1 on zero days’ rest
Toronto has covered this number in eight of its last 10 games and won’t have to worry about facing ex-franchise star Fred VanVleet who’s week-to-week with a right ankle strain.
Other SGP legs
Quickley over 14.5 points (-113): It’s been a minute since Quickley cleared this total but two key developments have me optimistic.
The Raptors’ guard has fallen short of this line in four consecutive contests but his usage is trending upwards.
Quickley played 28 minutes in his most recent outing after playing 21 minutes or fewer in three consecutive games. The hope is his deployment begins to look similar to what bettors were accustomed to in January.
- Quickley played 30-plus minutes in six of seven games
- Quickley averaged 29 minutes per contest
- He averaged 16.3 points per game
The matchup is right for Quickley, too, as the Rockets allow the seventh-most points per game (25.2) to point guards, according to Fantasy Pros.
Over 225.5 points (+104): Toronto’s games are going over on most nights.
The Raptors’ mediocre offence is averaging 111.2 points per game. Defensively, however, they’re as inept as they come. Toronto is surrendering the fourth-most points per game (118.8) in the league.
Toronto has played true to form in its last three games:
- 121-109 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder (230 total points)
- 138-107 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies (245 total points)
- 121-115 loss to the New York Knicks (236 total points)
Houston’s roughly league average in points per game (113.3) and can likely do enough to help get this total over, even with VanVleet out.
The Rockets are 27-24-1 to the over this season.
Picks made at 9:55 a.m. on 02/09/25.
Stevie’s an avid NFL, NHL, and tennis bettor who has no problem talking himself into the underdog. His previous stops include Yahoo! Sports Canada and Toronto Metropolitan University, where he received a degree in Sport Media.