Raptors vs. Nets NBA Preview and Best Bet for February 28 (Archive)
The Toronto Raptors (32-27) look to stay ahead of the Brooklyn Nets (32-29) in the Eastern Conference playoff race in a Monday evening matchup.
The Raptors have lost four of their last five while the Nets had a thrilling win in Milwaukee on Saturday night. Here’s a look at the NBA odds for this game.
Toronto Raptors vs. Brooklyn Nets
Monday, February 28, 2022 – 07:30 PM EST at Barclays Center
The Raptors (33-25-1 ATS) are a 2.5-point road favorite over the Nets (23-37-1 ATS) at BMR’s top-rated sportsbooks. The Nets have the worst spread record in the league while the Raptors are the fifth-best.
Brooklyn is stunningly bad 6-22-1 ATS (21.4%), in home games this season, which would be the worst cover rate in the NBA by any home team since at least 2003. A home game also means no Kyrie Irving again.
Brooklyn: Big Three vs. Decent One
The Nets are likely to finish this season on a higher note than Toronto, but for now, they trail the Raptors in the conference and are home underdogs in this matchup due to injuries and unique circumstances.
Brooklyn has gone from a famed “big three” to hoping they find a hot hand in any home game where Kyrie Irving will not play because of his vaccine decision. While New York looks to lift the vaccine mandate soon, it will not allow the unvaccinated Irving to play home games any time soon due to a separate private-sector mandate that will apply to the Nets.
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No Irving on Monday night, and no more James Harden after the blockbuster trade to Philadelphia. The newly acquired Ben Simmons will have to wait to make his team (and season) debut after back soreness. Kevin Durant (MRI) hopes to return this week, but Monday night looks like a no-go for the legend.
This leaves a very different looking roster with the expected starters on Monday being Patty Mills, James Johnson, Seth Curry, Bruce Brown, and Andre Drummond.
The Nets are 3-3 since the Harden trade, but if you look at recent home games since the Durant injury and with the absence of Irving, the Nets are 1-5 in their last six home games. The four double-digit losses include the embarrassing loss to Boston where the Nets fell behind 28-2.
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Making do with this lineup is going to be difficult before Durant returns. Mills came off the bench on Saturday, but he has scored one point in back-to-back games and was 0-for-12 from the field.
Curry has shot well for the team since the trade from Philly, but there is just not enough offensive talent around him with this lineup. The Nets are also still missing three-point specialist Joe Harris.
Guard Goran Dragic made his team debut on Saturday and scored six points in the win over Milwaukee, but that was a game where Irving exploded for 38 points. Good luck replacing that.
Slumping Raptors
The good news for Brooklyn is that Toronto does not come in hot. After an eight-game winning streak, the Raptors are 1-4 in their last five games as they look to complete a grueling road trip before hosting these Nets in Toronto on Tuesday.
The team’s last three losses have been by 27-plus points. Oddly enough, the last two Toronto wins were the games Fred VanVleet missed as he is dealing with a knee injury. The Raptors are a minus-70 with VanVleet on the court in the last two games.
Pascal Siakam may also not be 100% and is going through a slump without any 20-point games in his last four games (longest streak of season). He is shooting 35.4% from the field in the last four games.
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It also does not help that Gary Trent Jr. is one of the most inconsistent and volatile players in the league. Trent recently scored 42 points against Houston before scoring six points two games later in a blowout loss to the Pelicans.
This little slump could just be the combination of a team playing seven road games in their last eight games, some players not at 100%, and the Raptors have been leaning heavily on their starters all season.
All five of Toronto’s starters are ranked in the top 16 in minutes per game this season, including three of the top five spots. Maybe these guys are wearing down, but fortunately, this version of the Nets is not a strong opponent. Toronto is 0-2 against Brooklyn this season, including a 131-129 overtime loss in December in the last meeting.
Prediction
Toronto has been getting blown out, but that eight-game winning streak is very recent too. I cannot overlook how historically terrible the Nets have been at home this season.
Without Durant or Irving available, I have to trust the Raptors to cover for your NBA picks this Monday.
NBA Pick: Raptors -2.5 (-110) at Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.