Wizards vs Raptors Online Betting Odds
The Washington Wizards will make the trip north of the border to the Air Canada Centre where they will take on the Toronto Raptors on Thursday. The Wizards bring a four-game winning streak to town with them, while the Raptors have wins in six of their last seven games.[ad-4468020]
Washington Wizards (29-28) at Toronto Raptors (32-25)
Date: Thursday, February 27, 2014
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Venue: Air Canada Centre
City: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
O/U Odds: 195
Spread: Toronto -5.5
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While the Wizards have won four in a row, that streak would be longer if not for a loss in their first game back from the All-Star break when they lost to these very Raptors. That came at home as 2.5-point favorites. Now Washington will look to get their revenge in Toronto as 5.5-point underdogs.
This game will have major implications in the Eastern Conference standings, with Toronto looking to remain in the top four in the conference so they’ll have a home playoff series in the first round. Meanwhile, Washington is looking to climb into the top four as well, but find themselves on the outside looking in at the moment.
Washington was able to come a win in its last game despite the absence of Nene, as the team’s other four regular starters each scored better than 20 points in that game, the first time the Wizards have had four 20-point scorers in the same game since 2010. That win came against the lowly Magic by a score of 115-106, but the Wizards improved to just 9-34 in games played without Nene since he was acquired by the team in the 2011-12 season.
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Toronto’s last game went right down to the wire as the team came out of Cleveland with a hard fought 99-93 victory. Leading scorer DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points in that one, with 16 of them coming in the decisive fourth quarter. He was also pivotal in forcing a steal in the closing moments of the game that helped Toronto seal the win. It’s that type of commitment to playing hard at the defensive end that has Dwayne Casey’s squad ranking fourth in the Association in scoring.
The Raptors have dominated this season series, winning each of the three meetings by an average margin of victory of 10.3 points. Now Toronto is playing some of its best basketball of the season and while Washington has been strong as well, Toronto’s ability to play at the defensive end should be too much for a Wizards team that hasn’t really paid much attention to their play at that end of the court. Additionally, Washington has been ultra-reliant on the play of their starting five, and while they were able to overcome the absence of Nene in their last game against the Magic, the Raptors are an entirely different animal.
The Wizards are 1-6 ATS in their last seven trips to Toronto and 0-4 ATS in the last four meetings between these teams, while the Raptors are 21-7 ATS in their last 28 games against Eastern Conference opponents.
The play: Toronto -5.5
