It must be nice to get games off to rest, rather than to recover from injuries. Toronto boasts one of the deepest teams in the NBA, and it has allowed them to give stars Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Lowry rest days. Leonard is coming off three straight games of “DNP-Rest.” Of course, he’ll be back tonight to try to strengthen his MVP candidacy by guarding James Harden. After all, his most memorable regular season moment involved him hitting a three and then blocking Harden on a drive. And with Harden leading the MVP race at the moment, the time is ripe for an encore. Of course, if Kawhi can’t get it done, Toronto can take the other ex-Spur, Danny Green, and stick him on The Beard. And Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby can step in too. At 36-14 Toronto is tied for first in the East (percentage points technically places them second behind Milwaukee) and looking like a serious contender. Of those 14 losses, two have come against teams currently not in the playoff spots (Orlando and Detroit). I’ve watched a handful of Toronto games this season and they have all played out the same way: close game until the closing minutes when Toronto stops missing and their defense turns up to 11. My guess is that Houston won’t be in that position. It’s hard to bet against Harden’s 30-point streak because he has to keep shooting no matter what. And when he’s not shooting, he’s getting to the line. It’s going to take a team absolutely blowing the Rockets out and referees letting obvious fouls go to keep him under 30. This could be the game, since I can imagine Toronto putting Houston away early. Part of me wishes this game was in Toronto since Houston never wins there anyway and it would be nice to get the healthy game at home. Alas, the basketball gods have not favored Houston much this season. Houston has alternated wins and losses for their last eleven games, so with the win over the Knicks on Wednesday, this game feels like a loss due to talent discrepancy and natural patterns. Chris Paul is technically questionable for this game, but is more likely to return for Sunday or Tuesday’s games against Orlando and New Orleans, respectively. Tip-off is at 7pm on ESPN<doc-sep>James Harden has been doing things lately that we've never seen before. Fortunately for the Raptors, Kawhi Leonard is expected to return following a four-game absence. Who's Playing Matchup: Toronto Raptors vs. Houston Rockets Records: Raptors (36-14); Rockets (27-20) Where to Watch Date: Friday, Jan. 25 Time: 8:00 p.m. TV: TSN Network Radio: SN 590 Location: Toyota Center, Houston, TX Game Preview Saying that James Harden is on a roll right now would be an understatement. Since Houston's loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 8, Harden has taken his game to a historic level with averages of 42.5 points, 8.2 assists, 7.6 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. Not only has he scored 30-plus points in 21 consecutive games, the reigning MVP has four 50-point games games during that stretch, including a career-high 61 points in his most recent outing. Harden is averaging 45.3 points per game in the 11 games he's played in January alone. With only three games remaining for the Rockets this month, Harden will likely join Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant and Elgin Baylor as the only players in NBA history to average 40 points per game over an entire month (minimum 10 games played). The Rockets have been a better team for it. Following a rough start to the season, they now have the fifth-best record in the Western Conference, with only a couple of games seperating them from the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder in the standings. Time will tell if the Raptors have better luck slowing Harden down than the other teams that have crossed his path lately, though having a two-time Defensive Player of the Year will certainly help, as Kawhi Leonard is expected to return to the lineup following a four-game absence. MORE: What Leonard's missed time means for his awards candidacy O.G. Anunoby is also expected to return for the Raptors after missing five straight games due to personal reasons. Game Notes This will mark the 20th time Leonard and Harden have played against each other in the regular season. Harden has the edge on Leonard statistically, but Leonard has won 11 of their 19 regular season matchups. Harden, however, has won six of the 11 games they've gone head-to-head in the postseason. They both enter the game on streaks. For Harden, Wilt Chamberlain is the only player in NBA history to have gone on a longer streak of 30-point games. For Leonard, he's scored 20-plus points in 20 consecutive games, tying him with DeMar DeRozan for the second-longest streak in franchise history. Leonard now trails only Vince Carter, who scored 20 points in 23 consecutive games on two seperate occasions. Chris Paul has been upgraded to questionable for Friday's game. The nine-time All-Star has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since Dec. 22. Paul was averaging 15.6 points, 8.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game prior to his injury. As incredible as Harden has been lately, he'll probably appreciate some reinforcements. Last Time They Played Date: March 9, 2018 Score: Raptors 108, Rockets 105 Raptors: Kyle Lowry - 30 points, 6 rebounds, 3 rebounds, 1 steal Rockets: James Harden - 40 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 block<doc-sep>Sports Director Greg Bailey Anchor/Reporter Bob Slovak Anchor/Reporter David Nuno EMBED >More News Videos David Nuno discusses the potential returns of Chris Paul and Eric Gordon, plus James Harden's play of late. EMBED >More News Videos James Harden (rightfully) gets All-Star Game starting nod EMBED >More News Videos James Harden has record night with 61 points against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- James Harden extended his streak of scoring 30 points or more to 22 games, as the Houston Rockets survived a late collapse to fend off the Toronto Raptors, 121-119.Houston came out of the gate firing on all cylinders against their elite Eastern Conference opponent, jumping out to a quick 33-20 first quarter lead.But Houston's inability to play consistently for multiple games, or in Friday's case, multiple quarters, was on display once again.While Toronto struggled to cut Houston's lead to single digits, the Raptors managed to score 41 points on 71 percent shooting in the second quarter, slowly chipping away at the Rockets lead.In the second half, Houston continued to maintain control, cruising for 23 minutes of gameplay before disaster struck.Armed with an 11-point lead and 74 seconds remaining, former San Antonio Spur Kawhi Leonard hit a long 3-pointer to give Toronto life.Leonard continued his destruction with a steal on Harden, eventually leading to a Danny Green 3-pointer.Rockets guard Eric Gordon turned the ball over by stepping out of bounds on the following possession, leading to a third-straight Raptors triple with 27 seconds left.But Harden continued his quest for a second-straight MVP award, playing lockdown defense on Leonard during the final possession, as the Raptors forward air-balled the potential game-winner, leading to the 2-point victory.Houston was led by Harden's 35 points and seven assists. He also extended his unassisted scoring streak to 298 straight points.Meanwhile, Gordon added in 24 points and three steals for the Rockets. Kenneth Faried logged a double-double in just his second start with Houston, finishing with 21 points and 14 rebounds.<doc-sep>Betting Odds: Toronto Raptors at Houston Rockets Spread: Raptors -3 Over/Under: 229 Time: 8 p.m. ET TV Channel: ESPN >> All odds as of 2 p.m. ET. Download The Action Network App to get real-time NBA odds and track your bets Kawhi Leonard is back tonight, and he’ll be tasked with slowing down red-hot James Harden. Will that happen? Will the Raps cover on the road? Our analysts discuss. Betting Trends to Know In 24 home games this season, the over is 16-8 (66.7%) for the Rockets, making them the second-most profitable home team to the over in the NBA this season. At home against the Eastern Conference this year, the over is 7-1 in Rockets home games, going over the total by an astounding 24.7 points per game. — Evan Abrams Kawhi Leonard has missed four consecutive games to get some extra rest. He has now missed 14 games this season with the Raptors. They’ve gone 11-3 straight up and against the spread in those games. In games that their superstar has played, the Raps are 25-11 SU and 12-23-1 ATS. Unfortunately for Raptors bettors, Kawhi is expected on the court on Friday. — John Ewing Finish reading this entire article absolutely FREE in our app GET OUR FREE APP Moore: (Gulp) Bet Under on Harden’s Point Prop? Leonard’s return does mean it’s probably time to take on that under for Harden points (currently 42.5 at Westgate! ). There isn’t a better primary defender on Harden over the past four years than Leonard. The best defender on Harden used to be Andre Iguodala, but Leonard takes Iguodala’s prototype of a long, agile defender with acute intelligence defensively and kicks it up a notch. Leonard’s quick hands are able to disrupt the low, creeping dribble Harden uses to contain space. The Raptors will not allow a switch onto Harden by one of their bigs, instead going over on top with Leonard to keep him harassing Harden. If Harden tries to go for the pull-up, Leonard can block him from behind. The bigs will mostly drop; they won’t be worried about the roll man with Clint Capela’s continued absence. Leonard went 2-2 ATS vs. Harden in 2016-17 — the last time these two really met. Leonard played just 16 minutes in a Rockets cover last season in the lone game Kawhi played vs. Houston. There hasn’t been a consistent trend with Leonard ATS vs. Harden throughout the years, but with a compromised roster due to injury and Leonard playing, I lean towards Toronto. — Matt Moore Mears: Why Toronto Is a Brutal Matchup for Houston It’s a small sample size, but this is a notable trend given how the Rockets offense operates: Houston is a respectable 22-24-1 ATS this season overall, but just 2-11-1 against the top-10 teams in 3-point rate allowed. They haven’t played the Raptors yet this season, but they’re in that group, and they’re also fifth in 3-point field goal percentage allowed. They’re fourth in shots allowed at the rim, too. This is an unstoppable force vs. unmovable object game: The Raptors defense with Leonard is so good at directing opponents into mid-rangers. But Harden and Co. are allergic to mid-rangers. They take them just 17.1% of the time, which is easily the lowest mark in the league. The Raptors are top five in “open” 3-point field goals allowed and the percentage on those shots. The same is true with “wide open” shots — things certainly won’t come easy for the Rockets, who will again be without Chris Paul. The Rockets are slow-paced on offense, operating almost solely in the halfcourt. They aren’t particularly great rebounding the ball, and they almost never push in transition off steals or live boards. This game will 100% come down to whether the Rockets can make contested 3s. Harden can do that for sure, but I’ll rely on the trend I mentioned above. The Raptors are perhaps the most brutal matchup in the NBA for Houston, and while that Raptors -1.5 number is already gone, I’d still lean Toronto even at 2-3. — 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>
Raptors vs. Rockets Prediction Can James Harden lead the Houston Rockets to a big win at home when they host the Toronto Raptors tonight at 8PM ET? Game Snapshot & Odds 571 Toronto Raptors vs. 572 Houston Rockets Friday, January 25, 2019 8PM ET – Toyota Center Compare odds and from multiple different online sportsbooks and shop for the best lines at our new NBA Odds & Betting Page. Public Betting Trends According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Raptors are favored on the road, as they are getting odds of -3 points against the Rockets. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 227.5 points. The public betting for this game currently has 75 percent going on Toronto on the road. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our NBA Public Betting Page for updated figures on the game. Raptors rested up Toronto is coming off a 110-106 loss at Indiana on Wednesday, snapping a three-game win streak. However, the Raptors gave Kawhi Leonard two games off so he will be well rest for tonight’s game. Toronto is 36-14 on the season, 15-10 on the road, 23-27 against the spread and 28-22 with the over. The Raptors have been one of the best teams in the league throughout the season. They average 113.8 points per game on offense while allowing just 108.2 per game on defense. Leonard has been leading the team with 27.6 points and 7.9 rebounds per game this season. Serge Ibaka is adding 16.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest. Rockets struggling to cover Houston has hit a funk, alternating wins and losses over their last 10 games. The Rockets are coming off a 114-110 win at the Knicks on Wednesday, but they have failed to cover the spread in four straight games. The Rockets are now 27-20 on the season, 17-7 at home, 22-24-1 against the spread and 26-21 with the over. The Rockets are putting up 112.2 points per game on offense this season while giving up 110.7 points per contest. Their defense is allowing opponents to shoot 47.5 percent. James Harden has been on a crazy scoring run, posting over 31 points in 21 straight games. That includes 13 games over 40 points. He is averaging 36.3 points, 8.3 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game this season. While Clint Capela remains out with a thumb injury, Houston may finally get Chris Paul back tonight. He has been out since Dec. 20 due to a hamstring injury. He is listed as questionable to play tonight, though reports indicate a Sunday return is more likely. Paul averages 15.6 points and 8.0 assists per game this year. NBA Betting Trends Toronto The Raptors are just 2-8 against the spread in their last 10 road games and 1-5 ATS in their last six games following a loss. Houston The Rockets are 11-3-1 against the spread in their last 15 home games but 0-5 ATS in their last five following a win. Prediction: Harden is on a crazy run right now, but he alone is not getting Houston wins. The Rockets are depleted without Paul and Capela and Harden is having to try and do too much once again. That won’t work tonight against this Toronto team. Leonard is rested and will be a defensive force. Toronto is a team and a good one at that. While they have struggled to cover, the Raptors aren’t giving up many points to a Houston team that has lost at home recently to the Nets and were beaten by 28 at Philadelphia this week. NBA Prediction: Toronto Raptors -3