When it comes to NBA betting online, the AT&T Center in Bexar County has proven to be as catastrophic to the Toronto Raptors as the Alamo Mission, which is also in Bexar County, was to Davy Crockett & Co. The San Antonio Spurs have defeated the Raptors in the latter’s last eight straight visits. The Raps will have a great opportunity, the Spurs being without Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker due to injury, to snap that skid.
We're back inside @attcenter tonight for game 3️⃣ #GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/zXZkouXXvv
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 23, 2017
- Date: Monday, 23rd October
- Time: 8:40 PM
- Venue: AT&T Center
- Sportsbook NBA Games Betting Odds:
Raptors +3 (-110) 206 (-110) +135
Spurs -3 (-110) 206 (-110) -155
The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be DeMar
Toronto’s star DeMar DeRozan started the season on a tentative note, preferring to delegate scoring against the Bulls to his teammates (center Jonas Valanciunas led the Raptors with 23 points but he is day-to-day with a left-ankle sprain) but was his usual self against the Sixers on Saturday, shooting 8-for-12 from the floor and 14-for-16 from the foul line to score 30 points in 27 minutes. Whether DeMar the “facilitator” or the scorer will play against the Spurs has yet to be seen. One thing’s for certain, though; the Raps shouldn’t sleep on San Antonio just because Leonard and Old Man Parker are out; neither played in the Spurs’ last meeting with the Raptors – nor did Pau Gasol – which didn’t stop San Antonio from picking up the 108-106 win, as well as cover. Speaking of which, Toronto is 1-4 ATS in their last five games on the road against the Spurs, 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games after back-to-back ATS wins, and 0-3-1 against the NBA betting online spread in their last four games against a team with a winning record.
LaMarcus amongst us
The Spurs have gone 2-0 without their biggest star and the guy who was their second biggest start a decade ago, thanks to the emergence of LaMarcus Aldridge, who became, following a 28 point, 10 rebound performance against the Bulls, only the second player, the first being the now happily retired Tim Duncan, in franchise history to record 25-plus points and 10-plus rebounds in the first two games of a season. “I’ve been in a different mindset since the summer started, and that has carried over to training camp to preseason to now,” Aldridge said. “My mindset coming into the season was to try to be more dominant.” In addition to Aldridge’s offensive prowess, the Spurs fell back on D to outlast Chicago, holding the Bulls to 37.8% shooting from the field, and as a result they got the SU win but, unlike their season opener, they failed to cover and the total went under. Perhaps having observed the Lord’s Day has recharged the Spurs’ scoring batteries; the total has gone over in four of San Antonio’s last five games with one day off between games. The Spurs are, on the other hand, 1-4 against the NBA betting online spread in their last five games playing on one days’ rest.