Rockets vs Raptors Pick – NBA Predictions & Odds 2/3/23

The Toronto Raptors and the Houston Rockets do battle at the Toyota Center on Friday night.

The Toronto Raptors have been in a real funk as they’ve lost six of their last nine games overall and they will be aiming to snap a two-game skid after falling just short to the Jazz in a 131-1128 road loss on Wednesday. Fred VanVleet led the team with a triple-double of 34 points with 12 rebounds and 10 assists, Pascal Siakam added 21 points with 10 rebounds and five assists while Gary Trent Jr chipped in with 20 points. As a team, the Raptors shot 45 percent from the field and 10 of 23 from the 3-point line as they allowed the Jazz to get off to a quick start and had to claw their way back from a 14-point deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter, only to allow the Jazz to go on a pivotal 9-0 run to reclaim the lead for good.

Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets have really been struggling all season, but they’ve come to life with three wins in their last five games and they will be eager to stay hot after taking down the Thunder in a 112-106 upset win on Wednesday. Eric Gordon led the team with 25 points on eight of 17 shooting, Tari Eason added 20 points with 13 rebounds and two blocks off the bench while Kenyon Martin Jr. chipped in with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists. As a team, the Rockets shot 43 percent from the field and seven of 23 from the 3-point line as they set the tone with 34 points in the first quarter to take an early 12-point lead, but they had to fight all the way and held the Thunder to just 20 points in the fourth quarter to come out on top.

Looking at the betting trends, the Raptors are 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games, 5-2 ATS in their last seven games following a loss and 1-4 ATS in their last five games playing on one days rest. The Rockets are 2-5 ATS in their last seven home games, 27-55 ATS in their last 82 games against a team with a losing record and 3-11 ATS in their last 14 games overall.

Head to head, the over is 5-1 in the last six meetings in Houston and the Raptors are 2-6 ATS in the last eight meetings overall.

The Raptors will again be without OG Anunoby and Otto Porter Jr, while the Rockets will be missing Kevin Porter Jr and Jalen Green while Jabari Smith is listed as questionable. The Raptors haven’t been able to get anything going despite having a relatively healthy team, but surely they can put it all together for one night to take down this pesky Rockets team who have looked dangerous in their past two wins. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Rockets pulled off the upset here, but the Raptors really should win this one and the line is short enough.