Raptors vs. Wizards Prediction
The Toronto Raptors controlled their home court in the first two games of their series with the Washington Wizards. Now on the road for Game 3, will top-seeded Toronto continue its winning ways or will Washington bounce back with a victory of its own?
Game Snapshot
713 Toronto Raptors at 714 Washington Wizards
Friday, April 20, 2018
Capital One Arena at 8PM ET
TV: ESPN2
Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers at YouWager, the Wizards are a 1.5-point favorite on the spread line. The total is set at 218 points. As of Friday afternoon, 60 percent of public bets are being placed on visiting Toronto. Check out our NBA Public Betting Page for the latest information.
DeRozan, Lowry strong through two games
The Raptors have had plenty of playoff issues in recent years and the blame has fallen to the team’s biggest stars in DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, rightly so or not. But with a revamped playing style, Toronto has looked as good as ever in the playoffs through two games with it all starting with DeRozan and Lowry. DeRozan is averaging 27 points and five boards, while Lowry has averaged a double-double of 12 points and 10.5 assists. If the playoff woes are in the rearview for the guard duo, Toronto has a great shot at winning the Eastern Conference.
Scott providing big minutes
When you think of players on the Washington roster, Mike Scott is not the first or even the sixth guy that comes to mind. But he has been an invaluable role player this season and has been outstanding off the bench in two playoff games. After scoring 14 points and pulling down three boards in the 114-106 Game 1 loss, he contributed 20 points and four rebounds in the 130-119 defeat in Game 2. He played 27 minutes and shot 7-of-10 from the floor in each game. Look for Scott to continue being one of the first names called off the bench this series.
NBA Betting Trends
Toronto
The Raptors are 4-1 ATS in their last five meetings in Washington. Toronto is 5-0 ATS in its last five conference quarterfinals games.
Washington
The Wizards are 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings. The under is 4-0 in the last four Washington games on Friday.
Prediction
Even though Toronto was far better at home this season (36-7) than its 25-16 straight up record on the road, this is a highly motivated Raptors team that still isn’t getting a full amount of respect as they enter tonight as the underdog. I’m going to say that even though Washington played very well on the road on the offensive end and should be better defensively at home, Toronto will still have too much in the tank. Bet on the top seed in the Eastern Conference as a dog tonight.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: TORONTO RAPTORS +1.5