The Toronto Raptors will be looking to extend their current win streak to seven games when they return to action on Friday against the San Antonio Spurs as 8-point favourites on the NBA odds at sports books monitored by OddsShark.com.
Toronto entered a nine-day layoff over the All-Star break with straight-up wins in 15 of its last 19 contests but lags behind the Milwaukee Bucks, who maintain a narrow lead atop the conference going into Friday’s Spurs vs. Raptors betting matchup at Scotiabank Arena.
The Raptors have regularly racked up the points while winning six in a row, averaging 119.8 points per game during that stretch, including a 129-120 victory over Washington in their most recent outing on Feb. 13.
But while the Raptors have regularly run up the score, they have failed to cover in each of their past six when the point total has gone OVER, including last week’s win over the Wizards as 9.5-point home chalk. Toronto is also winless against the spread in its past three outings, and a meagre 6-9 ATS over its past 15 contests, according to the OddsShark NBA Database.
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That unevenness also extends to games in which the Raptors are pegged as big home favourites. Toronto is 27-3 SU in its past 30 regular-season contests while favoured by eight or more points on home hardwood, but has covered in just seven of its past 18.
The Spurs and former Raptor DeMar DeRozan arrive in Toronto mired in a slump, both on the floor and at the sports books. San Antonio returns from the All-Star break amid its longest road trip of the season, which it opened with four-straight outright losses. The team closed out the unofficial first half of the season with a narrow 108-107 win in Memphis as 7-point chalk, but has failed to pay out on the odds in eight-straight contests.
San Antonio’s recent shaky play has left it precariously perched in a tie with the Utah Jazz for sixth place in the Western Conference standings, just one game up on the eighth-place Los Angeles Clippers.
And the Spurs’ inconsistency has done little to boost their position on the NBA futures. San Antonio continues to trail at a distant +7000 on the NBA championship odds, and is pegged as a lengthy +3500 wager on the Western Conference championship odds.
In addition, the Spurs have struggled in recent dates with the Raptors, going 1-5 SU and ATS in their past six meetings, but posting SU wins in three of their last four visits to Toronto.
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