Toronto’s playoff-bound already, but the team is still playing for positioning in the east. The Raptors are only a game ahead of Washington for the third seed, while 2 ½ games shy of the defending champions Cleveland for second.
That said, the Raptors hope that DeMar DeRozan can continue his personal scoring onslaught in leading them to victory. He’s averaging 27.2 points since the All-Star break, and has picked up the assists with Kyle Lowry still sidelined. He just dished out a season-high of nine dimes during a 113-105 win over the Sixers on Sunday.
Speaking of which, Serge Ibaka was also huge in that win, finishing with 24 points on 11-of-17 shooting, six rebounds and six blocks. It was undoubtedly his best performance in Raptors uniform. Ibaka has put up 15 or more points in each of his last five games.
The Raps are 8-2 SU and 6-4 ATS in their past 10 games overall.
While the Raps are a lock for the postseason, it’s (almost) the opposite for the fading Pacers, whose playoff hopes continue to dwindle after suffering their fourth-straight loss on Sunday night in double overtime against Cleveland.
Paul George was nothing but sensational despite the loss, putting on a show with 43 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, including a series of exchanges with LeBron James. Yes, those numbers were surreal, but the Indiana defense still looked pathetic.
The Pacers have allowed no less than 110 points in each game of their current losing skid. And with that in mind, things don’t look so good in matching up against the Raptors, who rank among the highest in the league in scoring (107.3 PPG) this season. Plus, DeMar DeRozan just torched them with 40 points in last Friday’s loss at Toronto.
Indiana is 6-4 SU and ATS in its last 10 home games.
