The Golden State Warriors travel to Toronto to face the Raptors at Scotiabank Arena in what could be the preview of the 2019 NBA Finals.
The Warriors were the betting favorites to win the NBA title again this season but an injury to Stephen Curry has hurt them early in the season. Meanwhile, the Raptors have flourished with Kawhi Leonard at the helm and Toronto currently has the best record in the league.
The defending champions Golden State Warriors hit a snag when Stephen Curry got hurt. The Warriors went 2-5 including a string of four losses in their first seven games without their main gunner. But the Warriors are back in business as they have won three games in a row with Curry expected to return very soon.
Kevin Durant has taken the bulk of the scoring load without Curry. In the last 10 games without their two-time NBA MVP guard, Durant has averaged 32.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.7 blocks per game. Durant has averaged 41.67 points in their last three games, all of which the Dubs won. For the season, KD is averaging 29.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. They will need another big night from KD if the Dubs are to topple the Raptors in Toronto.
The defending champions lead the league in assists with 27.9 helpers per outing. The Dubs also rank 5th overall in team scoring at 116.0 points per game. However, Golden State hasn’t been its usual self on the defensive end. They only rank 14th in scoring defense and rebounding at 110.6 points and 45.8 rebounds, respectively.
After a slight hitch, the Toronto Raptors are back to their winning ways. The Raptors opened the season at 12-1 but then suffered three straight losses that stalled their season. However, the Raptors have regrouped and have won six in a row to claim the best record in the league at the quarter mark of the season. Not only that, the Raptors have asserted themselves as the best team in the East.
Kawhi Leonard is proving his worth for his new team and showing no ill effects of the quad injury which sidelined him for most of last season. The 2014 NBA Finals MVP is currently averaging 24.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game. His two way game and ability to take over games has made Toronto among the best teams in the league this season.
The Raptors rank 3rd in the league in scoring at 117.0 points per game while the team is also 7th in assists with 25.5 dimes per contest. The Raptors have also played very well on the other end of the court. Toronto’s scoring defense is ranked 6th in the NBA at 108.1 points allowed per game while their rebounding average of 46.5 per game ranks 10th in the entire league.
Golden State is 3-2 SU in their last five games played including 3-0 SU in their last three outings. The Dubs are only 4-5 SU in their 9 road games played this season. Toronto is 6-0 SU in their last six games played and are 9-2 SU in 11 home games played this season. Head to head, the Warriors are 9-1 SU in their last 10 meetings.
The Warriors have won the last eight meetings between these teams including the last four in Toronto but obviously, this is a different story because the Warriors may still be without their two all-stars in Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. Without those two, the complexion of the game changes entirely because the Dubs will lose the depth which has given them advantage over the rest of the league since 2015.
The Warriors are 5-5 without Curry this season but they have won three in a row with Kevin Durant stepping up big time after the Warriors went into a losing skid. But we all know that the Raptors have plenty of offensive weapons alongside Kawhi Leonard. Without Curry and Green, Toronto’s depth is going to be too much for Durant and Klay Thompson to overcome. We’re picking the Toronto Raptors to beat the Golden State Warriors on 11/29/18.
Golden State is 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games, 1-8 ATS in their last 9 games overall and 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games played on two days rest. Toronto is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games against the Pacific Division and 4-1 ATS in their last five games against Western Conference teams. Head to head, the Raptors are 4-1-1 ATS in their last six meetings and 3-1-1 ATS in their last five games played in Toronto.
The Warriors still have Durant and Thompson to lead their offense but against a Toronto team that has all its cards present in this game, the champs are going to come up short. Prediction: Raptors -8.5
The total has gone over in 12 out of the 22 games played by the Golden State Warriors this season and the over has hit in 6 out of the 9 road games the Dubs have played so far this season. The over is 15-7 in the Raptors’ 22 games played this season and the total has gone over in 9 out of the 11 home games played by the Raptors. Head to head, the over is 7-3 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams.
The over is 4-0 in the Raptors last four games and the over is also 5-2 in the Warriors’ last 7 games. The Warriors have averaged 119.33 points per game in their last 3 games played so this is a team that can put up the numbers even without Steph Curry. The Raptors are the 3rd highest scoring team in the league. This should be a shootout. Prediction: Over 224.5
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