The Detroit Pistons will be hosting the Toronto Raptors tonight in what is projected to be one of the highest-scoring contests of the evening. There is not much in the way of casual fan appeal in this matchup, but there are some talented frontcourt players in Pascal Siakam, Andre Drummond, and Blake Griffin. The consensus point spread for this contest opened at a well-set -4, but its overnight movement to -3.5 offers potential value on both sides. Let's dig in.
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Details
- Opening Lines: The consensus point spread for this contest opened at -4 on the Toronto Raptors. The consensus over/under total opened at 216.5 points. The point spread has dropped to -3.5. The over/under total has seen some movement and has increased to 217.
- Current Line: Toronto -3.5
- O/U: 217
- Location: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
- Start Time: 7:00 PM EST, Wednesday, December 18th
- Last Meeting: Portland defeated Phoenix 125-113 - October 30, 2019
Overview
The 18-8 Toronto Raptors have hit a rough patch as of late that has not surprisingly coincided with Fred Van Vleet's right arm contusion. The Raptors have lost six of their last eight and four of five since FVV's injury. Norman Powell has stepped up in his absence and has helped keep the Raptors competitive. The 2019-20 Toronto Raptors are no longer title threats but are a sneaky bet to once again to make it out of a depleted Western Conference behind the Milwaukee Bucks. Toronto should be battling for one of the top four seeds behind Milwaukee for the rest of the season. Tonight they will be taking on former coach Dwane Casey and the franchise big man they famously passed on for Terrence Ross in Andre Drummond. This should be an easy win for the defending NBA champions, but facing someone who knows them well in coach Casey, nothing is set in stone.
The Detroit Pistons are 11-16 on the season. They still have what is arguably the most talented frontcourts in the Eastern Conference, but find themselves in 10th place. The Pistons wing play has been an issue and will continue to be one for a team devoid of any high-level talent at the two or the three. Derrick Rose has been a bright spot off the bench, but Luke Kennard has been their only reliable wing option. Aside from their stunning win over Houston on Saturday, the Pistons have not beaten anyone they were not supposed to. Detroit seems destined to remain a sub .500 team unless they can swing a trade for some help. They are going to have a tough test against a Raptors team that knows their defensive schemes well from coach Dwane Casey's days in Toronto. Their path to success will start with limiting Siakam's efficiency.
Trends
- Over is 4-1 in Toronto's last five contests in Detroit.
- Toronto is 15-11 ATS on the season.
- Toronto is 5-7 ATS on the road this season.
- Detroit is 11-15 ATS on the season.
- Detroit is 7-6 ATS at home this season.
- Toronto is 5-5 ATS in their last 10 contests.
- Toronto is 2-5 ATS in their last seven contests.
- Toronto is 15-6 ATS in their last 21 contests as a favorite.
- Toronto is 5-2 ATS in their last seven Wednesday contests.
- Toronto is 1-4 ATS in their last five road contests.
- Toronto is 5-2 ATS in their last seven contests following a straight-up win.
- Detroit is 5-5 ATS in their last 10 contests.
- Detroit is 0-5 ATS in their last five home contests against teams with winning road records.
- Detroit is 1-4 ATS in their last five Wednesday contests.
- Detroit is 4-1 ATS in their last five contests played on one day of rest.
- Detroit is 5-1 ATS in their last six contests following a loss ATS.
- Under is 4-1-1 in Toronto's last six contests.
- Over is 6-1 in Toronto's last seven Wednesday contests.
- Under is 3-1-1 in Toronto's last five road contests.
- Over is 9-4-1 in Toronto's last 14 contests against teams with losing records.
- Over is 5-1 in Detroit's last six home contests.
- Over is 5-0 in Detroit's last five home contests against teams with winning road records.
- Under is 5-2 in Detroit's last seven contests against underdogs.
- Over is 5-2 in Detroit's last seven Wednesday contests.
Prop Bets
Norman Powell over 16.5 points (-110)
Norman Powell has been on fire over his last four games. He has cleared the 16.5 total in each of those contests. This is a much lower number than expected following head coach Nick Nurse stating that Fred Van Vleet is likely to miss tonight's contest. Powell will be leaned on as one of the Raptors top options, and would still be a strong over play if this total was set at 18.5. There is not much else to say except that this prop should be considered as a multi-unit play at FanDuel.
Bottom Line
The Toronto Raptors are easily the superior team in this contest, but due to playing on the road against their former head coach, they currently come in at a very favorable -3.5. Toronto has not been great against the spread in their recent contests at just 5-5 in their last 10, but have covered the spread in 15 of their last 21 contests in which they were listed as the favorite. Toronto beat Detroit by 12 points back on October 30th and should be good for at least a five-point victory in this contest. The Raptors have a significantly high outright win probability in this contest. Six of the Raptors’ last seven wins have come by five or more points. With only five cents juice at DraftKings, that is the book where we will be locking this in as a one unit play.
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Pick: Toronto Raptors -3.5 (-105)
Raju Byfield is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Raju, check out his archive, and follow him @FantasyContext.