Reasons Toronto should be a sound ‘investment’ tonight against OKC
—————————————————————–
Published Wagering Line
Opening line:
Oklahoma City Thunder -12.5/-107
Oklahoma City Thunder -13.5/-106 [as of 1:00 PM]
—————————————————————–
* This is the first of 5 road games which the Raptors will be playing over the course of the next 7 days.
* This is the first game of a difficult back-to-back for the Raptors [i.e. Toronto is at Denver tomorrow].
* If the Raptors are going to play a particularly ”energetic” game on this extended west coast road trip it is most likely going to be today.
* Despite the many difficulties which Andrea Bargnani [C] has on the defensive end of the floor, he should be in an advantageous individual match-up this evening, at the offensive end of the floor, against any of the Bigs for Oklahoma City [i.e. Ibaka, Perkins, Collison, Mohammed and Aldrich], none of whom are particularly well-equipped to deal with him effectively, as a perimeter-shooting Center.
* From a physical standpoint:
- James Johnson [SF] is an effective individual match-up against Kevin Durant [SF], at the defensive end of the floor;
- Sonny Weems [OG-SF] is an effective individual match-up against James Harden [OG-SF], at the defensive end of the floor;
- Reggie Evans [PF] is an effective individual match-up against Serge Ibaka [PF], at the defensive end of the floor;
- Although Jose Calderon is over-matched against Russell Westbrook, if he can generate as many points scored from his own array of fg’s, ft’s and assists, then, he should be able to minimize the damage done by his counterpart for Oklahoma City.
* Although Jay Triano is not an elite level head coach in the NBA, neither is Scott Brooks.
* The majority of NBA observers actually expect the Raptors to get thumped by the Thunder this evening.
* As the published wagering line for this game continues to climb throughout the day, it should not come as a surprise, at all, to see the Thunder close as a -14.0 favourite.
* OKC has 2 days off before playing their next home game, and is 1-1 in this situation, so far, this season [i.e. Nov 11, Loss, ATS/-1.5 vs Bos; Dec 12, Win, ATS/-12.5 vs Cle/b2b].
Tags: Oklahoma City Thunder, Pinnacle Sports, Toronto Raptors