The spotlight’s been on the Golden State Warriors for the first six weeks of the 2015-16 NBA season. However, their astounding success seems to have overshadowed one of their toughest foes in the Western Conference—the San Antonio Spurs.
The Spurs are beginning to gain a share of the spotlight by winning their past four games, which includes a 51-point win at Philadelphia Monday night. They’ll be looking to sustain their momentum when they travel north for their impending clash with the Toronto Raptors tonight. Will they stay hot? Or will the Raptors extinguish their flame?
Read on below for a full breakdown of this promising matchup. If you’re into college hoops as well, check out our preview of Eastern Kentucky vs. No. 5 Kentucky.
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San Antonio Spurs vs. Toronto Raptors Betting Preview
Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
When: Wednesday, December 9, 2015, 07:30 PM ET
Line: San Antonio Spurs (-5) vs. Toronto Raptors (+5); total: 188.0 – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: FSSW, TSN
Betting on the San Antonio Spurs (18-4)
The San Antonio Spurs have responded really well from their loss to Chicago last week. They’re currently on a four-game winning streak and have improved to 18-4 on the season, which is good for the second-best record in the NBA. The Spurs will now aim to extend their unbeaten run to five games when they pay the Toronto Raptors a visit at the Air Canada Centre.
[sc:NBA240banner ]In their last game, the Spurs pulled off a 51-point victory over the lowly Sixers even without three of their key players in Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard, who were all given a rest. That was probably the reason why LaMarcus Aldridge was able to have his best offensive game of the season with 26 points and nine rebounds.
Needless to say, the Spurs are going to need more than just Aldridge to beat the Raptors, who are one of the East’s elites. The return of Ginobili, Duncan and Leonard should probably be enough to give them a boost and ultimately help them take care of business once again. The three are averaging 42.2 PPG and 19.1 RPG combined this year.
Meanwhile, defense remains the Spurs’ biggest strength. Their defense has simply been breathtaking with only 88.3 points given up per contest, which is the fewest in the league. It’s going to be interesting though, how they’ll be able to contain the dynamic backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, who are both averaging over 20 points per game.
San Antonio is 7-3 SU and ATS in its past 10 road games.
After spoiling Kobe Bryant’s final game at the Air Canada Centre with a resounding 11-point win over the visiting Lakers Monday night, the Toronto Raptors snapped their three-game home slide and instilled some confidence back into themselves. Now, they’ll strive to make it back-to-back wins opposite Tim Duncan and the rest of the San Antonio Spurs this evening.
Obviously, that’s easier said than done, but having the likes of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan on their side might just be enough to help them pull off the upset. The two guards have been really filling up the stat sheet lately.
Lowry has been unstoppable lately, tallying 28.8 PPG, 6.5 APG and 2.5 SPG in his last four games. That stretch includes a 41-point outburst during Saturday’s heart-breaking loss to the Warriors. DeRozan, on the other hand, is averaging 22.0 PPG and is shooting 44 percent from the field in the same stretch. He’s also had a lot of success against the Spurs, posting 18.5 PPG through 11 career games.
Both Lowry and DeRozan, though, might have their work cut out for them against the best defensive team in the league. That being said, their other teammates need to help carry some of the scoring load and Terrence Ross might just be that guy once again.
Ross, who got the start for the injured DeMarre Caroll, had his best game of the season against the Lakers. He was 8-for-12 from the field for a total of 22 points and added six rebounds. Ross ought to replicate this performance if the Raptors want to keep in step with the Spurs from start to finish.
Toronto is only 2-8 SU and 4-5-1 ATS in its previous 10 meetings with San Antonio.
