Raptors picks and odds vs. Magic March 17: Bet Toronto to cover and the under
The Toronto Raptors play the second leg of a home-and-home against the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
The pregame narrative: This is the closest Toronto will get to playing a series this year, but I'm expecting the Raptors to cover Sunday's lofty spread. Additionally, I'll take the under in what should be a tighter contest.
NBA oddsas of 1:27 p.m. ET on 03/17/2024.
Raptors picks vs. Magic
Best Bet: Raptors +11.5 (-110)
Toronto should know what to expect from Orlando just two days removed from their last meeting.
The Raptors were competitive in Friday's 113-103 loss to the Magic. They only trailed by two points at halftime and received key contributions off the bench from Jordan Nwora (14 points) and Bruce Brown (12).
That will be crucial again on Sunday with a bevy of players still out. Scottie Barnes, R.J. Barrett, Chris Boucher and Jakob Poeltl will all be sidelined for this contest.
In spite of the absences, this is a mark the Raps should be able to cover. They've done so in 11 of their last 13.
Some familiarity should work in Toronto's favour this time around as well.
Conversely, trusting Orlando to cover a big spread like this is tough to do.
The Magic don't have a high-powered offence that can score points at will. They rank 23rd in the NBA in offensive efficiency and 26th in points per game (110.7).
Teams usually have to hit a pretty high point total to win by 12-plus points, and I'm skeptical of Orlando's ability to do that.
Key stat: The Magic have failed to cover this spread in seven of their last 12 games.
Quick pick
Under 218.5 points (-113): If Toronto is going to cover this spread it'll likely need to keep the scoring to a minimum.
That's something it should be able to do. Orlando has gone below this total in four of its last five contests, averaging just 103.4 points per game during this run.
The Raptors have been clicking offensively. They're generating 111.4 points per game over their last five, but they'll likely struggle to hit that mark against a stingy Magic defence.
Orlando boasts the fourth-best defensive efficiency rating (109.0) and cedes the third-fewest points per game (109.3).
