Brooklyn Nets at Toronto Raptors 8/19/20: NBA Basketball free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread.
2020-08-19 13:30:00 EDT
The Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors meet Wednesday in game two of NBA playoff action at the HP Field House.
The Brooklyn Nets could use a big upset victory here to even up the series at 1-1. The Brooklyn Nets are averaging 110 points on 46.7 percent shooting and allowing 134 points on 47.1 percent shooting. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot is averaging 26 points and two assists while Joe Harris is averaging 19 points and six rebounds. Caris LeVert is the third double-digit scorer and Jarrett Allen is grabbing 12 rebounds. The Brooklyn Nets are shooting 31 percent from beyond the arc and 68.8 percent from the free thitem line. The Brooklyn Nets are allowing 50 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 45 rebounds per game.
The Toronto Raptors look for another victory to get off to a quick 2-0 series lead. The Toronto Raptors are averaging 134 points on 47.1 percent shooting and allowing 110 points on 46.7 percent shooting. Fred VanVleet is averaging 30 points and 11 assists while Serge Ibaka is averaging 22 points and three assists. Pascal Siakam is the third double-digit scorer and Kyle Lowry is grabbing seven rebounds. The Toronto Raptors are shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc and 97 percent from the free thitem line. The Toronto Raptors are allowing 31 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 47 rebounds per game.
The Nets are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog, 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games playing on 1 days rest and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Raptors are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 playoff games as a favorite, 43-19 ATS in their last 62 games playing on 1 days rest and 8-2-1 ATS in their last 11 games overall. The over is 5-2 in Nets last 7 overall. The under is 7-3 in Raptors last 10 overall. The over is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings in Toronto.
I don’t love laying massive chalk in the playoffs and I certainly don’t overreact to one game to the next, but the Raptors looked way too comfortable against the Nets in game one. And while the Nets made a comeback and had a chance to cover in the fourth quarter, the Raptors built their lead effortlessly yet again. The Brooklyn Nets simply don’t have the horses to hang with these Raptors, and they have no chance if they can’t do a better job defensively. If game one is any indication of things to come, the Raptors should close out this series with three more blowouts.
I’ll eat the chalk with the dinosaurs.
