Steve Merril
NBA
(3% play) DENVER +5 (vs. Toronto) - 9:05 pm ET #516
Toronto comes into this game on an 11-game winning streak, but the Raptors have played a ridiculously easy schedule during that span. Toronto played just one Western Conference team in those eleven games, and they also played their last seven games at home. The Raptors will now hit the road for the first time since January 14th, and they will play their first road game outside of the eastern time zone since December. Toronto was deep into a set routine from being at home for so long, but now that has been disrupted, so they are in a bad situational spot for tonight’s game in Denver, especially since they will be playing in the thin air and altitude. The Raptors only own a +2.5 point differential on the road this season; they own a +7.2 point differential overall. Toronto is only 13-9 SU on the road compared to 18-6 SU at home, so a road game after a string of home games makes this a bad scheduling spot for the Raptors.
Denver returns home off three consecutive road games with their last being a 109-105 overtime loss at Indiana. The Nuggets also lost their previous home game, so we expect a peak performance in this game tonight. Denver’s offense comes into this game in terrific current form as they’ve averaged 106.8 points per game on 44.9% shooting from the field over their last five games. The Nuggets are 4-4 SU in their last eight home games, but three of their four losses only came by 1, 3, and 6 point margins. Denver has been an ultra competitive team this season, especially when playing playoff-bound opponents. The Nuggets won 106-105 in Toronto back in December, and we expect another close game throughout this evening. We’ll take the points with Denver in this game on Monday night.
Play NUGGETS (+) as a 3% play.
No College Plays for Monday