Houston Rockets vs Toronto Raptors Prediction, Odds and Picks for Sunday, 12/22/24

Despite the NBA Cup semi-final loss to Oklahoma City, the Houston Rockets returned to their winning ways as they took down the Pelicans 133-113 on Thursday. They have another “easy” game on Sunday, at least on paper, as they head to Toronto for a date with the Raptors. Houston has been a reliable bet for a while now, covering the spread in 12 of their last 17 games and winning 13 of 18. They are one of the NBA’s healthiest teams right now, which has certainly impacted their 18-9 SU record. One thing that is always an issue with this team is their accuracy shooting the ball. In the win over the Pels they shot over 50% from the field for the first time in 10 games.

The Raptors don’t have much to play for this season, as they are currently only 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 7-21 SU record. They’re riding a 6-game losing streak at the moment, but playing at home should at least give them some hope of a result here. Of the 7 wins they have this year, 6 of them have come at the Scotiabank Arena. There’s good news on the injury front as RJ Barrett could make a return to the line-up after missing the Brooklyn game. He has scored 30+ pts in 2 of his last 3 and would certainly boost the Raptors offense here. So far in 15 games played at home, Toronto has covered the spread 11 times.

Despite the losing streak, Toronto has been able to stay in games. They’ve had the upper hand in head-to-head meetings winning 5 of the last 6 overall and 4 of 5 at home, so I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt here and back them plus the spread.

Rockets vs Raptors Predictions: Raptors +8 is available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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