The Washington Wizards and the Toronto Raptors square-off in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs in an Eastern Conference matchup between two teams that have some solid individual talent. <\/p>\n
\nNBA Basketball Odds<\/h3>\n
Washington vs. Toronto<\/strong>
\nSeries Odds: Washington +145\/ Toronto -165<\/strong><\/p>\nSeries Schedule:<\/h3>\n
\n
- Game 1 @TOR: 12:30 p.m. ET, Saturday (ESPN)<\/li>\n
- Game 2 @TOR: 8 p.m. ET, Tuesday (NBA TV)<\/li>\n
- Game 3 @WAS: 8 p.m. ET, April 24 (ESPN2)<\/li>\n
- Game 4 @WAS: 7 p.m. ET, April 26 (TNT)<\/li>\n
- Game 5 @TOR: TBD, April 29 (TBD)*<\/li>\n
- Game 6 @WAS: TBD, May 1 (TBD)*<\/li>\n
- Game 7 @TOR: TBD, May 3 (TBD)*<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The difference in this one should come down to which team\u2019s stars can elevate their game the highest.<\/p>\n
Offensive Matchup<\/h3>\n
The Wizards come into this series with one of the top backcourts in the league with John Wall and Bradley Beal combining for 32.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 13.1 assists per game. Despite this outside firepower, Washington is ranked just 17th<\/sup> in the league in scoring with an average of 98.5 PPG.<\/p>\n
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Toronto\u2019s offense boasts seven different players scoring at least nine points a game as part of a season scoring average of 104 PPG that is the fourth-highest total in the league. Leading the way is DeMar DeRozan with an average of 20.1 PPG. The Raptors fall to 12th<\/sup> in the NBA shooting the ball with a 45.5 field goal percentage.<\/p>\n
Defensive Matchup<\/h3>\n
Defense has been one of Washington\u2019s primary strengths all season long. The Wizards ended the regular season ranked 10th<\/sup> in the NBA in points allowed (97.8) and they were eighth in total rebounds (44.7). Center Marcin Gortat has led the way in that department with 8.7 rebounds a game.<\/p>\n
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The Raptor\u2019s defense is ranked 19th<\/sup> in the NBA in points allowed (100.9) and 26th<\/sup> in rebounds (41.5), putting them at a clear disadvantage in this series at this end of the court. They did finish the season on a strong note with a straight-up 4-1 record in their last five games in which they held teams to just 91.8 PPG.<\/p>\n
Betting Trends<\/h3>\n
The Wizards ended the season with a 5-1-2 record against the spread in their last eight games and they went 4-1 ATS in their last five road games. The total has stayed UNDER in eight of their last 11 games against a team from the Atlantic Division.<\/p>\n
The Raptors are 7-15 ATS in their last 22 home games and they have failed to cover in nine of their last 11 games against a team with a SU winning record. The total has stayed UNDER in four of their last five games.<\/p>\n
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Head-to-head in this matchup, the underdog has covered in five of the last six meetings and the total has stayed UNDER in nine of the last 12 games. Toronto swept the season series 3-0 SU and it was 2-1 ATS.<\/p>\n
Prediction<\/h3>\n
This best-of-seven series has the ability to go the distance between two evenly matched teams. In the end, home court should prevail considering Washington\u2019s SU 17-24 record on the road this season. Take the series price on Toronto with a 4-3 series win.<\/p>\n
Check out our\u00a0Updated NBA Betting Odds<\/a>.<\/h3>\n
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