Toronto Raptors vs. Utah Jazz Predictions, Picks and NBA Preview – December 23, 2016

Toronto Raptors vs. Utah Jazz Betting Preview

Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena—Salt Lake City, Utah

When: Friday, December 23, 2016, 9:00 PM ET

Line: Toronto Raptors (-1.5) vs. Utah Jazz (+1.5); total: 205.0– view all NBA lines

TV Broadcast: TSN / RTRM+

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Betting on the Toronto Raptors (-1.5)

Toronto’s cruising right now, winning eight of its last 10 games (7-3 ATS) with the two losses—both by just four points—coming against Cleveland and Atlanta.

The Raptors’ offense has been sizzling during this run, managing at least 101 points in every game, including five 120-point outputs. They also racked up 116 points on 46.2 percent shooting in their latest win versus Brooklyn on Tuesday night.

DeMar DeRozan, the team’s leading scorer (27.9 PPG) this season, was held to just 15 points thanks to a mix of solid defense from Brooklyn and a number of uncharacteristic misses by DeRozan himself. It was a good thing that Kyle Lowry went off for 23 points and eight dimes to compensate for his backcourt mate’s shooting woes.

Besides Lowry, the Raptors also got a boost from Norman Powell, who contributed a season-high 21 points off the bench. Toronto’s likely going to need every point it can get for tonight’s matchup with a defensive-minded Jazz squad that’s allows only 94.9 points per game, currently the fewest in the league.

Betting on the Utah Jazz (+1.5)

Utah, for the first three quarters at least, was on its way for an easy home win over the Kings on Wednesday night. But the Jazz ended up collapsing in the final period, wherein the visitors outscored them by 12 points and escape with the 94-93 win.

That marked the Jazz’s 12th loss of the season and their second-straight one. They could have forced an extra period if Rudy Gobert nailed both of his free throws, or if Gordon Hayward didn’t miss his driving layup in the final 16 seconds of regulation.

Now Utah prepares to host a streaking Raptors team that’s beaten them in five of the last six encounters (5-0-1 ATS). Gobert and Hayward, who both led the offense against Sacramento with 28 and 17 points, respectively, hope to muster enough offense and collectively play good defense versus Toronto, the third-highest scoring team (112.3 PPG) in the league as of today.

Writer’s Prediction

Utah (+1.5) bounces back, 99-95.

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