Since Jan. 6, the Toronto Raptors have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA, compiling a record of 17-3 straight up and 12-8 against the spread over their last 20 games. The Raptors will look to stay hot against the top team in the East this Friday night hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Cavaliers vs. Raptors 2016 odds: Toronto small home underdogs against Cleveland
The top two teams in the Eastern Conference duke it out as the road-favored Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
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Toronto is a 1-point home underdog in this matchup at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. This will be just the second time in the team’s last 21 games that the Raptors have gone off as the betting underdog.
With so much media attention following Golden State, San Antonio and Oklahoma City in the Western Conference and Cleveland in the East, no team has stayed under the radar better than the Toronto Raptors.
With a 38-18 SU and 30-25-1 ATS record this season, the Raptors have the fifth best record in the NBA behind only the aforementioned teams, and sit only three games behind the Cavaliers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Raptors have been strong at home all season at 20-6 SU and 14-12 ATS.
The Raptors are just 1-4 SU and 2-3 ATS in their last five games against Cleveland per the OddsShark NBA Database. That one victory came this season as a 3-point home underdog in a 103-99 win in November.
Cleveland bounced back nicely from a surprising home loss to Detroit with a 114-103 win and cover against Charlotte on Wednesday, bringing the team’s record to 6-1 SU and 4-3 ATS over its last seven games.
The main focal point to this season for the Cavaliers has been to keep their “big three” of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love healthy, and so far they’ve been able to do that en route to a 41-15 SU record. The Cavaliers are 25-29-2 ATS this season with a 11-14-2 ATS record on the road.
Friday night’s total is set at 207 points. The OVER is 4-0 in the last four games between these two teams.
This game is likely to be one that the Raptors have had circled on their calendar for a while. In addition to cutting Cleveland’s lead in the East for the top seed down to two games, Toronto could add confidence heading into the postseason that the Raptors beat the Cavaliers twice in Toronto this season.
