The Toronto Raptors will host the Houston Rockets in a cross-conference matchup on Friday's NBA schedule. Toronto is 18-33 overall and 10-13 at home, while Houston is 23-27 overall and 5-18 on the road. The Rockets won the last meeting, 135-106, last week, which ended a four-game win streak for the Raptors in the head-to-head series. Houston is 26-22-2 against the spread in the 2023-24 NBA season, while Toronto is 24-27 versus the spread.
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The Raptors are favored by 1.5 points in the latest Rockets vs. Raptors odds, per SportsLine consensus, and the over/under is 234 points. Before entering any Raptors vs. Rockets picks, you'll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters Week 16 of the 2023-24 NBA season on a sizzling 51-33 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning nearly $1,700. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Houston vs. Toronto. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA odds and betting lines for Rockets vs. Raptors:
- Raptors vs. Rockets spread: Raptors -1.5
- Raptors vs. Rockets over/under: 234 points
- Raptors vs. Rockets money line: Raptors: -125, Rockets: +106
- Raptors vs. Rockets picks: See picks at SportsLine
What you need to know about the Raptors
The Raptors came into Wednesday's match having lost three straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They secured a 123-117 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. The win was just what the Raptors needed coming off of a 138-100 loss in their prior game.
Toronto was active at the NBA Trade Deadline, sending away Dennis Schroder for Spencer Dinwiddie -- who has already been waived -- and acquiring Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji from Utah. The two former Jazz players are both questionable for Friday, so Toronto could be undermanned. Thus, even more will fall on the shoulders of Scottie Barnes, who was just named as an injury replacement at the All-Star Game, and is averaging career-highs across the board with 20.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.2 steals. See which team to pick here.
What you need to know about the Rockets
Meanwhile, the oddsmakers set the bar high, but the Rockets and the Pacers didn't disappoint and broke past the 245 point over/under on Tuesday. Houston fell just short of the Pacers by a score of 132-129. The Rockets have struggled against the Pacers recently, as their contest on Tuesday was their ninth consecutive lost matchup. Despite their loss, the Rockets saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Dillon Brooks, who scored 23 points, was perhaps the best of all.
Houston started off phenomenally against the spread, going 15-5-2 through its first 22 games. However, since then the Rockets are just 11-17 versus the number, and they've fallen to 12th in the Western Conference standings. The offense has hit a skid as the team ranks 24th in field goal percentage and 26th in 3-point percentage. That offense will be depleted on Friday as sixth man Tari Eason (leg) is out, as is former Raptor Fred VanVleet (adductor) who will miss the Rockets' lone trip of the season to Toronto. See which team to pick here.
Key Betting Info
RJ Barrett will likely loom large in the final result, win or lose. This year, he has averaged 21.3 points, 7 rebounds, and 3.6 assists.
Some of the betting trends to consider are:
- The Rockets are 14-4 against the spread in their last 18 games vs teams that win less than 45 percent of games.
- The Rockets are 7-12-1 against the spread in their last 20 games as the road underdog.
- The Raptors are 21-21 against the spread in their last 42 games after a day off.
How to make Raptors vs. Rockets picks
The model has simulated Rockets vs. Raptors 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Under, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that hits in well over 60% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Raptors vs. Rockets, and which side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Rockets vs. Raptors spread you need to jump on Friday, all from the model on a 51-33 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, and find out.
