Cleveland Cavaliers vs Toronto Raptors Betting Preview

The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently 19-13, as they’re heading into play winners of six of their last seven games.

The Toronto Raptors, on the other hand, are 14-15, as they’ll be playing for the first time in eight days after defeating the Golden State Warriors.

Betting Odds & Lines

The spread for Saturday night is set at CLE -8.5. The over/under is sitting at 204.5 points. The CLE moneyline is -350, whereas the TOR moneyline is +280.

Cavs Coming Off Disappointing Loss

The Cavs are coming off a disappointing loss to the Boston Celtics, as they were without Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley, and Isaac Okoro due to being placed into the league’s health and safety protocols.

Darius Garland was the major bright spot in the Cavs’ loss, as he put up 28 points, six assists, and three steals.

Kevin Love continues to thrive in his newfound role as a veteran leader of this team, as he had 18 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists.

Darius Garland Lighting it Up Over Last Three Games

Garland is averaging nearly 24 points on over 60 percent shooting over his last three games, displaying his great floater and craftiness around the rim during the process.

Garland has taken a huge step up this season as an all-around scorer and playmaker at the point guard position, which is a huge reason why he should garner serious consideration to make the All-Star Game this season.

Several Raptors Players Remain Out

The Raptors currently have most of their key players out due to being placed in the health and safety protocols, including Fred VanVleet, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Gary Trent Jr.

Surprisingly, they have enough players in action to field a team in this one, but with most of their key players out, it’s hard to see how they’ll be competitive in this one. 

When they fielded more of a complete roster last time out, they defeated the league’s best team record-wise. Granted, they were without Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Andrew Wiggins.

VanVleet put up a near triple-double performance of 27 points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds, as he joked after that game that his teammates don’t give him the Russell Westbrook treatment.

For those unaware of what that means, that means that Westbrook’s teammates simply get out of the way for when Westbrook wants to grab rebounds.

Cavs Win

The Cavs are missing several key players as well, but do have Garland still in the fold to help lead this team to victories as well as other supporting players in Love, Ricky Rubio, and Lauri Markkanen.

The Cavs have also won six of their last seven games entering this game but were defeated to a healthier Boston Celtics team their last time out, which will happen throughout the course of the season, especially this one.

Expect the Cavs to have enough to get by a decimated Raptors team in this game, given their success all season long and to ultimately cover the spread.