Raptors vs. Lakers same-game parlay predictions Jan. 9: Bet on Toronto to cover an alt spread

The Toronto Raptors continue journeying through California tonight as they face the Los Angeles Lakers.

The pregame narrative: Toronto is on a nice run of winning or at least keeping games close, which makes the team look like the right pick on an alternative spread tonight. To round out this parlay, I'm backing Immanuel Quickley on a reasonable assists prop and fading Anthony Davis on an alt points prop.

NBA oddsas of 2:25 p.m. on 01/09/2023.

Raptors predictions vs. Lakers

Parlay: Raptors +6.5 + Quickley over 4.5 assists + Davis under 31.5 points (+285)

Raptors +6.5 (-148): Aside from an embarrassing loss to the Detroit Pistons, Toronto has been playing some relatively inspired basketball post-Christmas.

Toronto enjoyed a dominant, 15-point road win over the Golden State Warriors two nights ago. The Raptors, who were underdogs in that game, are now 5-2 ATS since Dec. 27. They'e also covered this number in each of those games.

The Lakers did earn an impressive win over their roommates, the Los Angeles Clippers, last time out. But that game doesn't negate an extended rough stretch for the Lakers over the past month.

L.A. is 1-7 ATS as a favourite since Dec. 12 and has only covered a -6.5 spread twice in that span (14 games).

Other parlay picks

Quickley over 4.5 assists (-134): Quickley slid from shooting guard to point guard after being traded to the Raptors. Unsurprisingly, his assist volume has soared in the four games since.

It's a tiny sample, but Quickley has cleared this line in three straight games for Toronto. That includes a 10-assist night — in just 26 minutes — on Sunday against the Warriors.

Now that Dennis Schroder is coming off the bench, this over should be attainable on a near-nightly basis for Quickley. L.A. is a fair matchup, allowing the 12th-most assists per game to opponents.

Davis under 31.5 points (-245): This is a pretty juiced leg, but it takes the parlay from +170 to +285 and that's of great interest to me.

Quite simply, Davis doesn't reach a number like this very often. He's finished under 31.5 points in 29 of 35 games, averaging 25.2 PPG on the season.

Toronto is middle of the pack in terms of scoring defence, ranking 17th in points allowed (115.7/game). Davis has only faced the Raptors once in the past two years, but he's also never hit this over in 12 career games against them.