Raptors vs Spurs Picks, Predictions & Odds Tonight

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05 November 2023

Raptors vs Spurs Picks, Predictions & Odds Tonight

The San Antonio Spurs have looked much better with Wembanyama at the forefront, but how long can he keep up this torrid pace? With the Raptors providing plenty of length, or NBA picks are fading Wemby on offense Sunday afternoon.

It is the Toronto Raptors turn to get in front of Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, with the rookie French star defying NBA odds with back-to-back wins against the Suns. As impressive as those moments were, the Raptors might be designed to pester someone like Wembanyama.

Toronto was built on length, though it is not as long as Wembanyama. Then again, no one is. The Raps head to San Antonio as short favorites this afternoon and my free NBA picks like their odds as I preview the Raptors vs. Spurs on November 5.

Raptors vs Spurs odds

Raptors vs Spurs predictions

No one is as good or as bad as their most recent game. This sports gambling axiom is tried and true and exceedingly applicable to Victor Wembanyama this afternoon.

He poured in 38 points on Thursday night on 15 of 26 shooting against the shorthanded Suns, a dazzling display and an emphatic win for the San Antonio Spurs. Well, emphatic for as long as the Spurs continue to act like their goal is winning this season. A tank will show up at some point in the winter.

Until then, doubting Wembanyama will never be in vogue. Yet, sometimes it should be.

He has cleared 20 points just twice this season, his 21-point showing in his second career game buoyed by going 7-for-8 from the free throw line, where he has otherwise shot 66.7 %.

Fading Wembanyama today is fading him after his best game so far, the equivalent of selling high on a stock. That alone should be the reasoning for doing so.

Then add in the Toronto Raptors' length and it makes plenty more sense. Pascal Siakam has a 7-foot-3 wingspan. OG Anunoby's is 7-foot-2. They are nothing compared to Wembanyama, but they will be excellent nuisances compared to anyone else who has tried to defend him.

Pestering Wembanyama in his limited minutes will come naturally to Siakam and Anunoby. He is not posting people up, he is beating them with his length. They can at least counter most of that and thus likely force the Frenchman into a rougher performance from deep than the 5 of 12 he put together in those two games against PHX.

Lastly, as if this thought of doubting a rookie coming off a personal and professional high when now facing a defensive-minded opponent needed one more piece of logic, midafternoon games are notoriously difficult for young players.

They are not used to their gameday routines being so completely disrupted. This is an intangible, absolutely, but it is a genuine reality in the NBA. Wembanyama will almost certainly start slowly today, furthering reason to doubt his points prop.

My best bet: Wembanyama Under 20.5 points (-125 at PointsBet)

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Raptors vs Spurs same-game parlay

Wembanyama Under 20.5 pts

1H Under 107.5

Raptors 1H -3.5

No one in the NBA excels early in midafternoon games. It is a fact of life, even if these Sunday matinees have become increasingly common. One of the simplest ways to approach NBA betting is to take the first-half Unders in the afternoons and not worry about much else.

Taking the Raptors with an alternate first-half spread is building further on that thought. They are the more veteran team. Toronto should snap into action far sooner than San Antonio does today — particularly with the figurative hangover perhaps hanging on the Spurs from those Suns wins.

Juicing the spread to -3.5 rallies this same-game parlay’s payout to +550 from +225, the extra bucket feeling very much worth such a reward.

Looking to bet on some Raptors action? Join PointsBet, one of Canada’s favourite books for new bettors!

Raptors vs Spurs spread and Over/Under analysis

Saturday afternoon saw this spread open with Toronto favored by 2.5, jumping up to -3 before sunset and reaching -4 early on Sunday.

The total opened at 224.5 before falling to 223.5 late Saturday night, 222.5 early Sunday morning, and 221 by the time you finished brunch. Why? Well, mostly because the Raptors’ offense remains a problem, fireworks against Milwaukee last week aside.

Ignore that anomaly and Toronto has not scored more than 107 points in a game this season, falling short of 100 more often than it reaches triple digits. This team was constructed to clog up the court defensively, but unfortunately, it does so on both ends.

Raptors vs Spurs betting trend to know

The Under has cashed in four of Toronto’s six games this season, including both its games on the road. Find more NBA betting trends for Raptors vs. Spurs.