In their first post-trade-deadline matchup, the Toronto Raptors hit the road to face the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The pregame narrative: The Raptors were active at the deadline, and they have some key injuries, which means the roster will be a shell of itself on Friday. Look for Immanuel Quickley to do his part as a facilitator and for Isaiah Hartenstein to feast on the glass.
Check out my Raptors vs. Thunder prop picks for Feb. 7.
Raptors vs. Thunder prop picks
Best bet: Hartenstein over 10.5 rebounds (-134)
Without Jakob Poeltl in Toronto’s lineup, Hartenstein should have his way as a rebounder tonight.
Poeltl, who’s out with a hip injury, is an adept rim protector with enough size (seven feet, 245 pounds) to push other bigs around.
On Wednesday, Memphis Grizzlies centre Zach Edey went to work against the Poeltl-less Raptors. He finished with 15 rebounds in just 25 minutes.
The only time Toronto came close to slowing down Edey was with Kelly Olynyk on the floor. But Olynyk was dealt to the New Orleans Pelicans just hours after that game.
Orlando Robinson, come on down. The undrafted centre is on his third team in three seasons, and he just might get the start for Toronto on Friday due to process of elimination.
Let’s get back to Hartenstein for a second. The primary risk for him is the reinsertion of Chet Holmgren into the lineup, but Holmgren hasn’t played since Nov. 10 and will likely be on a minutes restriction.
Hartenstein is averaging 12.2 rebounds. And now he’s facing a squad that doesn’t have a healthy NBA-calibre centre.
Facing a Poeltl-less Raptors squad in December, Hartenstein grabbed 16 rebounds in 28 minutes.
Key stat: Hartenstein has gone over 10.5 rebounds in seven of his past nine games.
Quick pick
Quickley over 4.5 assists (-134): OKC is arguably the best defensive team in the NBA, so this isn’t a good matchup for many overs on the Toronto side. But I’m intrigued by this assist number for Quickley.
Injuries have plagued Quickley this season, but he’s not on the injury report for Friday. That means the starting point guard spot is his.
And as a starting PG, isn’t a five-assist performance awfully reasonable? After all, he’s averaging 5.7 assists in 12 games this year.
Quickley has cashed this bet in six of nine games since Jan. 1. I’m hoping Scottie Barnes assumes more of a scoring role tonight and allows IQ to do his thing as a facilitator.
Picks made at 2:15 p.m. ET 02/07/2025.
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.