The Toronto Raptors have failed to cover the posted spread in eight straight games as they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night as narrow 1.5-point underdogs on the NBA odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Toronto is coming off a discouraging 110-99 defeat in Boston as 4.5-point chalk on Saturday, which dropped it to 3-4 straight up in its past seven games while cutting the club’s lead atop the Eastern Conference to just two games going into Tuesday night’s Raptors versus Cavaliers betting matchup at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Raptors’ current slide marks a dramatic reversal in fortune after they stormed to the top of the East during a 20-2 SU run that started in late January. The club averaged over 115 points per game during its hot streak, while claiming 12 wins by double-digit margins, including five lopsided road victories.
Toronto also regularly rewarded bettors in that span, failing to cover in consecutive contests just once while going 15-7 ATS.
However, the Raptors offence has increasingly struggled during its current swoon, averaging just 106.33 points over the past three outings, while slow starts by the defence have left the club facing first-quarter deficits in four of its past seven games.
Among the recent matchups in which the Raptors surrendered big first-quarter numbers was the team’s last visit to Cleveland on March 21.
The Cavaliers tallied 42 points in the opening frame of their 132-129 seesaw victory over Toronto as 2-point underdogs that night, which marked the second time in just four days that the Raptors had surrendered 132 points to an opponent.
That win proved especially sweet for the Cavaliers, who suffered a humiliating 133-99 loss in Toronto as 2.5-point favourites on Jan. 11, marking the low point of a dismal 6-13 SU run that all but eliminated Cleveland from contention for top spot in the Eastern Conference.
But Cleveland has shown steady signs of improvement since halting that slide, and currently rides an 8-1 SU surge that features five victories on home hardwood. However, the Cavaliers’ hold on third place in the conference is far from secure. Cleveland remains just one game up on fifth-place Indiana with five games remaining on the schedule, but maintains short +800 NBA championship odds, just ahead of the Raptors at +950.
Following Tuesday’s contest the Raptors open their final homestand of the season on Wednesday against the Celtics, followed by a Friday night clash with the Pacers. Toronto has taken five straight from Boston at the Air Canada Centre, and is unbeaten SU in six home dates with Indiana.
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