Now that All-Star Weekend is in the rear-view mirror, it’s time for the Toronto Raptors (17-38 SU, 32-22-1 ATS) to get back to business. But the question remains: Are the Raptors in the business of winning? The longer-term picture looks rosy enough, but what about the rest of 2024-25?
You know the conundrum by now. Toronto has the fifth-worst record in the league coming out of the All-Star break; there are five “can’t-miss” prospects in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft, and if the regular season ended today, the Raptors would be roughly a coin flip to snag one of the following blue-chippers:
– F Cooper Flagg, Duke
– G Dylan Harper, Rutgers
– SF Ace Bailey, Rutgers
– SG V.J. Edgecombe, Baylor
– G Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois
Flagg is the obvious No. 1 on this year’s NBA mock drafts, drawing comparisons to none other than Larry Bird – fitting, since Flagg has modelled his game on the three-time champion and league MVP. The Raptors will have a 10.5% chance of winning the draft lottery if they finish fifth-worst; they can improve to 14% by falling into the bottom three.
Or Toronto can put their best foot forward and try to reach the postseason. They’re still only five games out of a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference with 30 games left in the 2024-25 campaign. Two of the teams they need to overtake, the No. 10 Chicago Bulls (22-33) and No. 12 Brooklyn Nets (20-34), appear to be tanking after their moves at the trade deadline, while the No. 11 Philadelphia 76ers (20-34) are one more Joel Embiid injury away from falling completely apart.
Toronto Raptors: Fish, or Cut Bait?
The Raptors have a long history of poking holes in this win-or-tank narrative. They can do both at the same time. Adding Brandon Ingram at the trade deadline gives Toronto a bona fide scorer to pair with Scottie Barnes, but Ingram (ankle) isn’t expected to play this week and probably won’t make his Raps debut until March.
Meanwhile, Toronto’s once-ample Bench Mob has been depleted with the transfer of Kelly Olynyk (the pride of Kamloops, BC via The Six) and Bruce Brown to New Orleans in the Ingram trade – plus Davion Mitchell to Miami in the five-team Jimmy Butler megadeal. That’ll make life more difficult for the Raps in the short-term, but as you’ll see in our latest NBA betting preview, it also paves the way for our heroes to keep out-performing their lowered expectations.
5. LA Clippers at Milwaukee Bucks (Thursday, Feb. 20)
We usually fill out our top five with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, but like the Raptors, they don’t return from the break until Friday. So let’s pay a visit to Kawhi Leonard, Norman Powell and the Clippers (31-23 SU, 31-22-1 ATS), who may have found that last missing piece when they scooped up former No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons after Brooklyn bought him out. Simmons can’t score much, but he’s a toolsy multi-position defender – pretty much the opposite of Kyle Kuzma, who joins the Bucks (29-24 SU, 23-29-1 ATS) after they shipped Khris Middleton to Washington (and former Raptor Delon Wright to New York) in a desperate win-now bid.
4. Miami Heat at Toronto Raptors (Friday, Feb. 21)
Toronto fans will get to see local hero Andrew Wiggins in his new role with the Heat (25-28 SU, 21-31-1 ATS), joining Mitchell and almost-Raptor Kyle Anderson in that Butler trade. The drop-off between Butler and Wiggins probably isn’t as big as the betting public thinks, and Miami’s bench just added two quality defenders. Instead of pounding the Raps ATS, consider taking the Under as both teams play their first game after a long layoff.
3. Phoenix Suns at Toronto Raptors (Sunday, Feb. 23)
Now here’s a team the Raptors can sink their teeth into. It’s been a disappointing year for the Suns (26-28 SU, 19-34-1 ATS), the league’s least profitable team against the spread, and they weren’t able to unload Bradley Beal at the deadline because of his no-trade clause. Nick Richards is now their starting centre after Jusuf Nurkic was exiled to Charlotte, so if Jakob Poeltl (hip) is healthy enough to play, Toronto will be in good shape to take advantage.
2. Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors (Tuesday, Feb. 25)
We already know Toronto can beat the Celtics (39-16 SU, 23-31-1 ATS). On January 15, the Raps prevailed 110-97 as 14-point home dogs, RJ Barrett leading the way with 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. The defending champs should be motivated for this rematch, but their chemistry has been off; we’ll keep recommending the Under for those Jaylen Brown scoring props, after Toronto held him to 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting last time out.
1. Toronto Raptors at Indiana Pacers (Wednesday, Feb. 26)
Our betting week concludes with the first of four road games for the Raptors, as Pascal Siakam and the Pacers (30-23 SU, 25-27-1 ATS) roll out the welcome mat. It’s been a much better showing from Indiana since Aurora, Ontario’s own Andrew Nembhard returned from the injured list in December – although Montreal native Bennedict Mathurin remains an inefficient volume shooter on a team that could use some defence. Let’s see if one or more of Toronto’s young wings (Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji, Ja’Kobe Walter) can hit the Over on their made 3-pointers, depending on who’s getting those valuable minutes this week.
This is where things get a bit tricky. Aside from Ingram and Poeltl (and PJ Tucker, who still has yet to report or reach a buy-out at press time), the Raps are at full strength heading into this week’s action. Dick has been starting ahead of Agbaji, but he’s struggled lately, while Agbaji has been solid and Walter appears to be improving at both ends. Ingram will eventually cut into all their minutes, but for now, keep paying attention to those “morning shoot-arounds” to see who’s likely to play before making your picks. Then hammer those NBA lines at Bodog Sportsbook – Canada’s No. 1 source for Toronto Raptors betting tips and analysis, plus our full menu of basketball odds for college hoops, WNBA and the European leagues. Go Raps!