NBA Basketball
2012-01-06 - New Jersey Nets at Toronto Raptors
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Friday 6 January 2012 - Tip Off 7pm ET
Midnight (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Toronto Raptors (3-3) were supposed to be one of the strugglers this season in the NBA, but they have put in some tough defensive efforts to pull some victories out and get their season off to a good start.
Toronto have won their last 2 games coming into this one and they have limited those opponents to less than 90 points. There should be plenty of confidence in the team that held Cleveland to a season-low 77 points in their last game and restricted them to under 30% of their field goal attempts.
Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan have both made strong starts to the season and the fans will be expecting the Raptors to go on and beat the New Jersey Nets (1-6) today.
It was supposed to be a big season for New Jersey who will soon be known as the Brooklyn Nets. They already had Deron Williams on the books and were very much in discussions with Orlando to trade Dwight Howard from them and make the Nets a genuine threat in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately for them, this trade was not completed and they have struggled out of the gates since.
Injuries have been a big factor in their poor start as Brook Lopez has missed every game so far, while Williams and Kris Humphries have both missed playing time. Both Williams and Humphries could miss this game tonight after missing the loss at Boston, especially in this shortened season when games are coming quick and fast.
Another concern is MarShon Brooks with the rookie expected to miss the contest tonight and he will be another miss for the Nets as he has scored at least 17 points in 5 of their last 6 games.
Head to Head
Toronto are looking to win their 5th consecutive home game against the New Jersey Nets and also to improve their 3-1 record against the spread in those wins.
Toronto are actually 6-2 against the spread in the last 8 games in the series between the teams.
Toronto are 4-2 against the spread this season, New Jersey are 2-5.
Toronto are 1-0 against the spread as the favourite this season, New Jersey are 2-5 as the underdog.
Other Interesting Trends
Toronto are 4-1 against the spread in their last 5 games against teams from the same Division.
However, they are 5-11-1 against the spread in their last 17 games following a straight up win.
New Jersey are 3-13 against the spread in their last 16 games against teams from the same Division.
They are 1-8 against the spread in their last 9 games when playing with 1 days rest between games.
Prediction
I am going to back the Toronto Raptors to win this game and cover the spread for the following reasons:
First, New Jersey are suffering with some big injuries and could be missing Deron Williams, Kris Humphries, Brook Lopez and MarShon Brooks tonight, making it much more difficult to score for them and keep close to the Raptors.
Second, Toronto are playing much better than New Jersey at the moment.
Third, New Jersey have lost their last 6 games by an average of 18 points per game.
Fourth, these two teams have had contrasting fortunes in this spot; Toronto are 5-1 against the spread in the first of back to back nights play, New Jersey are 3-7 against the spread in the same spot.
The Pick :
Toronto Raptors 95-83 New Jersey Nets