Betting Odds: Houston Rockets at Toronto Raptors Spread: Raptors -3.5 Over/Under: 228.5 Time: 8 p.m. ET TV Channel: TNT >> All odds as of 1 p.m. ET. Download The Action Network App to get real-time NBA odds and track your bets Kawhi Leonard vs. James Harden. Kyle Lowry vs. Chris Paul. The stars are all out tonight in Toronto in this marquee showdown. Is there any value in tonight’s spread or total? Our analysts discuss. Betting Trends to Know The Rockets opened as 4.5-point underdogs. This is just the eighth regular-season game that Houston has been an underdog when both James Harden and Chris Paul are expected to play. The Rockets went 5-2 straight-up and against-the-spread (ATS) in the previous seven games. — John Ewing The Raptors are coming off one of their worst shooting performances of the season, shooting 38.5% from the field in their loss against the Pistons. Since 2005, teams with a win rate of 70% or higher that shot less than 40% from the field in their last game are just 165-198-5 (45.5%) ATS, and just 66-92-3 (41.8%) since 2013. — Evan Abrams The Rockets have won five consecutive games straight-up, all by relatively small margins; their biggest win was just 11 points. The Rockets will now travel to Toronto on normal rest to face the Raptors to try and extend their streak. Since 2005, teams that have traveled to Toronto on normal rest while on at least a five-game winning streak have had success ATS, going 19-9 straight-up (67.9%) and 17-9-2 (65.4%) ATS north of the border. — Abrams Mears: How I’m Handicapping Tonight’s Game Finish reading this entire article absolutely FREE in our app GET OUR FREE APP If you take the year-long metrics for each team, this game shouldn’t be anywhere close to Raptors -3.5, which suggests Toronto is about a point or less better on a neutral court. The Raps on the year have a +5.2 point differential (third-best in the NBA), while the Rockets are at +2.0 (11th). And yet, the Raptors haven’t quite looked at their full powers lately. They’re just 2-2 over their last four, dropping games to the Magic and Pistons. What’s been going on? It could just be a minor blip — it’s a long season after all — but the bench has been problematic. Last season, the Raps bench was perhaps the best in NBA history, easily ranking first in the league in efficiency. This year, they’re down to 20th in the league. It’s been a bit rough lately; take the Portland game the other day as an example. In that win, the starters all posted positive plus-minus marks, with Marc Gasol and Pascal Siakam leading the way at +23 and +19, respectively. Those are incredible numbers, and if your starters are getting that type of lead against other starters, you’re a really good team. But the game was close, mostly because every bench member got outscored by double digits in their minutes. Norman Powell, Jeremy Lin, OG Anunoby and Pat McCaw all got significant minutes, and those guys are a far cry from last year’s unit of Fred VanVleet, Delon Wright and Jakob Poeltl. The Marc Gasol trade seemed like a home run for the Raptors, but the bench argument is a fair one. It was already hurting, and they traded depth in Jonas Valanciunas, Delon Wright and C.J. Miles for the All-Star big man. It was still a good trade, and depth matters less in the playoffs (which is what this team is rightfully optimizing for), but it could hurt them in covering regular-season numbers. With that said, tonight they’ll face the most top-heavy team in the league in the Rockets, whose bench ranks literally last in efficiency. Houston’s bench this season is shooting a league-low 40.4% from the field and 31.4% from 3-point land. Thus, I’m not sure Toronto’s current bench weakness will really be magnified in this particular affair. Gasol has been a nice addition for them, and that new starting lineup has blitzed opponents to the tune of a +36.9 point differential. They definitely have the firepower to hang with the Rockets, and they have the best combination of defenders in the league to throw at Harden and CP3. So far this morning, the Raptors are getting 52% of the bets and 72% of the money, and yet the line has moved from Toronto -4.5 at open to -3 currently. There’s value at that number as it sits now, but I would grab it early, as the money discrepancy will likely push it back up later. — Bryan Mears Editor’s note: The opinions on this game are from the individual writers and are based on their research, analysis and perspective. They are independent of, and may not always match with, the algorithm-driven Best Bets from Sports Insights.<doc-sep>The Houston Rockets are 5-0 straight up and 2-2-1 against the spread over their last five games including upset wins over Golden State and Boston. The Rockets will try to pull off another upset on Tuesday night when they visit the Toronto Raptors. Houston is a 3.5-point road underdog on the NBA odds in Toronto at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. In their last three games as an underdog the Rockets are 3-0 SU and ATS. Houston Rockets Notes The Rockets believe that they are peaking at the right time. After going 1-3 SU and ATS in their previous three games including two disappointing road losses against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers, the Rockets beat Golden State 118-112 in Oakland without James Harden as 12-point underdogs. That win has sparked Houston’s current five-game winning streak, and the team is averaging 118.2 points per game over that stretch. On Sunday, the Rockets beat Boston comfortably in a 115-104 victory. The last 10 games between Houston and Toronto have been split evenly with both teams going 5-5 SU and ATS per the OddsShark NBA Database. Toronto Raptors Notes Toronto’s backers have been disappointed over the team’s last eight games as the Raptors are just 1-7 ATS, but overall Toronto is playing well with a 9-2 SU record over its last 11 games. Entering Tuesday’s action behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the top spot in the Eastern Conference but five games ahead of the Indiana Pacers in third, Toronto is starting to look pretty firmly nestled into the two-seed with the postseason right around the corner. The Raptors are 27-6 SU and 14-19 ATS at home this season. Rockets at Raptors Betting Total Tuesday night’s total is set at 228 points at sports betting sites. The OVER is 6-1 in the last seven games between the Rockets and Raptors. Houston is currently going off as the second favorite behind Golden State to win the Western Conference, and Toronto is the second favorite behind Milwaukee to win the Eastern Conference. This should be a great test for both of these teams as they look to keep building momentum before the playoffs begin and it could even end up being an NBA Finals preview. For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.<doc-sep>
Two teams with championship aspirations will go head-to-head when the Toronto Raptors host the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night. Entering the game, the Raptors sit second in the Eastern Conference, while the Rockets have climbed up to fifth in the ultra-competitive West. The meeting between the two teams is the second - and final - of the season, as the Rockets pulled off a two-point win over the Raptors in Houston back in January. The game will also serve as a showcase for two of the league's top players in James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, who should get plenty of opportunities to go at one another. How to watch Rockets at Raptors Date: Tuesday, March 5 Tuesday, March 5 Time: 8:00 p.m. ET 8:00 p.m. ET Location: Scotiabank Arena -- Toronto, Ontario, Canada Scotiabank Arena -- Toronto, Ontario, Canada TV: TNT TNT Streaming: fuboTV (try it free) fuboTV (try it free) Live stats: GameTracker GameTracker Odds: Raptors -3 Odds and analysis Check Sportsline's NBA pick sheet for all your daily odds. Who wins Rockets vs. Raptors? And which side of the spread can you bank on in over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Rockets vs. Raptors spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $4,000 on its NBA picks this season, and find out. Storylines Rockets: After a slow start to the season, the Rockets have been playing much better basketball lately, as they are finally fully healthy, and James Harden isn't required to single-handedly carry the team on the offensive end. Come playoff time, Houston could be a legitimate threat to the defending champion Warriors - and the rest of the league. Raptors: The Raptors have some things to figure out before they're ready for the start of the NBA's second season in April. They continue to integrate center Marc Gasol into the rotation following his deadline acquisition, and coach Nick Nurse has been tweaking the lineup in order to maximize his team's potential. So what are the optimal NBA DFS tournament lineups for tonight? And which player is a must-roster? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure's complete optimal tournament lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings, and cash big on NBA DFS. Game prediction, pick This one is a close call, but the line slightly favors the Raptors, and that is the better bet. The Raptors are one of the league's best teams at home (28-12), while the Rockets are just average (16-16) on the road. Plus, the Raptors have one of the best potential James Harden-neutralizers in the league in Kawhi Leonard, who should be able to prevent an absolute outburst from the reigning NBA MVP.