The Toronto Raptors (+1,500 to win the Championship) were among the sexy picks to win the post-LeBron James Eastern Conference prior to the season. They have not disappointed so far, but the playoffs is an entirely different world. Will the Raptors pass their first test of this postseason by defeating the Orlando Magic (+50,000)? Or will the Magic get a win right in their very first playoff game since 2012?
These Magic are not in the mood to quit (unlike one Magic we know of). Orlando won all of their last four assignments in the regular season, which includes victories over the Boston Celtics and the Charlotte Hornets in back-to-back fashion. The Magic are banking on the momentum garnered from that recent string of wins to boost them against a tough squad in Toronto. The Magic have split their four meetings with Toronto in the regular season, and even outscored the Raptors by 30 points in those games. Nikola Vucevic is the most important player for Orlando. He’ll be matched up with a pair of quality big men in Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, but Vucevic should be able to hold his own. He did not make the All-Star this season for nothing. In four Raptors games in the regular season, Vucevic managed to put up 20.0 points while pulling down 15.5 rebounds. Evan Fournier, Terrence Ross, and Aaron Gordon will provide offense from the wings. Gordon needs to stop playing so poorly when facing Toronto. He averaged 16.0 points in the regular season but posted jut 9.5 against Toronto.
Orlando is 3-1 against the spread (ATS) in its last four road games.
Betting on the Toronto Raptors (58-24)
If this were the Raptors that made the playoffs last season, perhaps LeBron James wouldn’t have sniffed the NBA Finals. But enough with the what-ifs. The fact of the matter for Toronto is that it is a deep team smothered with talent from top to bottom. Gasol brings a ton of positives to the Raptors frontline and overall offense and defense. And then there’s Kawhi Leonard, who can do it all on both ends of the floor. There’s a reason that Gordon struggled putting the ball through the hoop when the Magic played Toronto in the regular season, and it’s most likely Leonard’s proven defense. In Toronto’s 121-109 home win over the Magic on Apr. 1, the Raptors shot 50.0 percent and 51.4 percent from deep. They also hit 19 3-pointers, while limiting Orlando to just 46.2 percent shooting from the floor. Toronto’s advantage in playoff experience over the Magic is glaring. While D.J. Augustin, Evan Fournier, and Vucevic have combined for only 28 playoff games, the Raptors’ group of Gasol, Leonard, Ibaka, Kyle Lowry and Danny Green have combined with 417 games worth of postseason experience.
