The Toronto Raptors host the Golden State Warriors in what could be an NBA Finals preview. Tipoff from Scotiabank Arena is at 8 p.m. ET Thursday. Golden State superstar Stephen Curry is out with a groin injury and Draymond Green has a bad toe. Consequently, sportsbooks list the Raptors as nine-point favorites in the latest Warriors vs. Raptors odds. The over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 226.5. Before you make any Warriors vs. Raptors picks, check out what SportsLine's Larry Hartstein has to say.
Hartstein is on a red-hot 8-3 streak on against-the-spread picks involving the Raptors. He also has a knack for picking the Warriors, as he's 27-19 in his past 46 plays involving Golden State. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, Hartstein has locked in a strong pick for Raptors vs. Warriors on Thursday that you can only see over at SportsLine.
He has taken into account that the Raptors have won six straight games with forward Kawhi Leonard leading the offense. For the season, he's averaging 24 points, but over his past four he's boosted that total to 33. He has also snagged double-digit rebounds in each of the past three contests. Point guard Kyle Lowry has continued his sharpshooting from beyond the arc, knocking down 43 percent of his 3-pointers in the past five games.
The Warriors squeaked past the Raptors 127-125 the last time they met in January, but that was in Oakland and Golden State didn't have to defend Leonard.
But just because the Raptors are tops in the Eastern Conference doesn't mean the Warriors can't cover a sizable spread.
Without Curry in the lineup, the Warriors will rely on a heavy dose of Kevin Durant inside and Klay Thompson outside. Durant continues to dominate the lane, averaging 29.2 points. Thompson is starting to find his touch from 3-point range, knocking down 11 of his 24 attempts over the past two games.
Look for Golden State point guard Quinn Cook to play plenty Thursday. He's a wild card that does a little bit of everything for the Warriors, especially getting the ball into the hands of scorers.
We can tell you Hartstein is leaning under, but his much stronger play is on the spread. He has spotted a glaring trend that makes one side of the spread a must-back. He's sharing what it is, and who to back, only at SportsLine.
Who wins Warriors vs. Raptors? And which glaring trend causes one side of the spread to hit hard? Visit SportsLIne to get the strong against-the-spread selection from the expert who is on a smoking-hot 8-3 streak picking the Raptors.
