Toronto Raptors at Cleveland Cavaliers Betting Preview

Opening Line: Raptors +10 / Cavs -10 O/U 203

Time: 7:05 PM EST Tuesday January 19, 2010 on NBA TV

This season the Cavs are 14-3 at home and 20-22 ATS and the Raptors are 8-14 on the road and 20-21 ATS.

The Cavs and the Raptors are both 7-3 in their last 2 games. Cleveland is coming off a win in their last game and has a comfortable 11.5 game lead in the Central Division and Toronto has won 2 in a row and trail the Boston Celtics in the Atlantic Division.

Cleveland is tied with the L.A. Lakers and Denver for the fewest home losses this season (3).

In their next home game the Cavs host Kobe Bryant and the defending champion Lakers, but they cannot look past the Raptors in this game, as Toronto has climbed back in the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference and have won 10 of their last 13 games.

Chris Bosh (23.8 ppg 11.2 rpg) is obviously the big gun for the Raptors, but the Cavs also have to play solid defense against C Andrea Bargnani, who scored 28 points on Cleveland in their first match up earlier this season and has averaged 20.8 ppg and 9.2 rpg in his last 5 games.

Toronto's strength is their offense and Cleveland's strength is their defense, as the Raptors rank 5th this season in scoring (103.7 ppg) and the Cavs rank 4th in points allowed (94.8 ppg).

The Eastern Conference last season showed that reigning MVP King James (29.6 ppg) can't do it all himself and tonight he will need help on the offensive end of the court from Mo Williams (16.7 ppg), Shaq (10.5 ppg), and newly back from injury Jose Calderon, who has averaged 18 ppg in his last 2 games.

The Raptors have to hit the boards tonight as a team since the Cavs are a much better team on the boards. This season Cleveland has a rebounding differential of +4.2 rpg while Toronto is only at -1.3 rpg.

Cleveland is 2-6-1 ATS in their last 9 games, 2-5 ATS in their last 7 home games, and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a favorite of 5.0-10.5. Toronto is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games, 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as an underdog, and 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games against teams in the Central Division.

Our Selection : The Cavaliers are a solid 14-3 at home this season, but have been a bankroll draining 6-11 ATS. The Raptors have struggled on the road this season, but have stepped up their play in their last 5. They have won 3 out of their last 5 road tilts SU and ATS with both losses being well under the posted line in this game. Grab the 10 points and look for the Raptors to hang tough throughout. Take the Raptors +10


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