The Brooklyn Nets head north of the border to face off against the Toronto Raptors in NBA action on Friday night.
These are two teams moving in opposite directions and despite the Raptors boasting a 10-4 record at Scotiabank Arena, NBA betting lines opened with the Nets as 1.5-point road favorites for today.
Can Kevin Durant continue his red-hot play and lead the Nets to another win? I let you know with my best free Nets vs. Raptors NBA picks and predictions for December 16.
Nets vs Raptors best odds
Nets vs Raptors picks and predictions
Don't look now, but the Nets are finally beginning to look like the title contenders they were expected to be at the beginning of the season. They've won eight of their last nine games and are coming off three days of rest after beating the Wizards 112-100 on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Raptors are just 2-6 SU and ATS in their last eight games, which includes a pair of recent losses to the Orlando Magic, who have the third-worst record in the league.
That span also includes a 114-105 loss in Brooklyn where the Nets prevailed despite a quiet 17-point performance from Kevin Durant. Durant has been red-hot and that's the only time in his last nine games that he scored fewer than 29 points.
With Kyrie Irving back on the floor alongside Durant, the Nets have been cooking on offense. Perhaps most importantly, Ben Simmons is finally contributing (albeit in limited minutes) and the reserves have stepped up, with the Nets beating the Pacers 136-133 last week despite sitting their entire starting lineup.
If you ignore their shoddy defense in that contest (which we probably should do since they were missing their eight best players), the Nets have limited opponents to 105.8 ppg over their last eight games. That improved play on the defensive end of the floor should help them against a Toronto team that 's just 26th in the league in field goal percentage (45%).
That shooting percentage is even worse when you consider how many easy buckets the Raptors score in transition and Toronto's inability to create good looks in the half-court remains its biggest weakness.
Not only are the Nets red-hot at the moment while the Raptors are ice-cold but the recent head-to-head favors Brooklyn as well. The Nets have won all three meetings this season and are 4-0 ATS in the last four.
While the Raps typically have a pretty big advantage at home, the Nets don't have to travel far to get to Toronto and have gone 4-0 ATS in their last four trips to Canada.
My best bet: Nets -1.5 (-107 @ PointsBet)
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Nets vs Raptors spread analysis
Toronto is two games below .500 after losing 124-123 at home to Sacramento on Wednesday. O.G. Anunoby missed his second-straight game in that contest and the Raptors will have to play without their two-way workhorse for at least another week as he deals with a hip injury.
The Raptors do an incredible job at both forcing turnovers and taking care of the ball, ranking first in both turnover rate and opponent turnover rate. That combined with their strong offensive rebounding has resulted in the Raps leading the league with a whopping 7.7 extra scoring chances per game — more than twice as high as second-place Phoenix.
Unfortunately, when it comes to shooting the ball, the Raps are near the bottom of the league in both their previously mentioned field goal percentage (45%) and opponent field goal percentage where they rank 27th (48.4%).
That's bad news against a 17-12 Nets team that thrives in both categories. It might be surprising to hear, but the Nets are fourth in the league in opponent field goal percentage (45.3%). It's less surprising that they are second in the league in field-goal percentage (49.9%) with Durant averaging 30 points per game on a career-high 55.9 FG%.
The Nets will likely be without key reserve Patty Mills tonight, while sharp-shooting sixth man Seth Curry is questionable with a hamstring injury. However, the Nets have shored up their scoring depth lately with T.J. Warren returning from injury and young guards like Edmond Sumner and Cam Thomas playing well when called upon.
Brooklyn's biggest weakness right now is its poor work on the glass, with the Nets 28th in the league in rebounding rate.
Another area they have struggled in has been their ability to defend the arc, ranking 29th in opponent 3-point percentage (37.9%). However, the Raptors aren't built to expose that weakness. Toronto is just 28th in the league in 3-point percentage (32.3%) with that number dropping to 29.3% this month.
Nets vs Raptors Over/Under analysis
Both of these teams play at a below-average tempo, with the Nets 22nd in the league in pace and the Raptors 23rd. The Raps love to run the floor after forcing turnovers but they chew up the clock on half-court sets with an average length of possession of 17.9 seconds after a missed shot — the third-highest number in the league.
Raptors games have seen an average total of 221.8 ppg this season (with Toronto scoring 111.3) while Nets games have seen an average total of 223.4 ppg (with Brooklyn averaging 112.5).
That said, Toronto's offense has been a bit suppressed at times due to leading scorer Pascal Siakam and point guard Fred VanVleet missing a total of 16 games. With both of those All-Stars healthy, the Raps have been more efficient on offense although the absence of OG Anunoby will hurt them on the defensive end of the floor.
I mentioned that the Nets have been playing better defensively after an ugly start to the year. However, Brooklyn's best defensive efforts came when Irving was serving an eight-game suspension.
In 20 games with Irving this season, the Nets have a defensive rating of 114.4, while they boast a much better 109.8 defensive rating without him. With Irving and his 25.3 ppg, the Nets are going to get more buckets on offense but also give up more on the other end of the floor.
Nets vs Raptors betting trend to know
The Raptors are 0-4 ATS in their last four games versus a team with a winning straight-up record. Find more NBA betting trends for Nets vs. Raptors.
Nets vs Raptors game info
| Location: | Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON |
| Date: | Friday, December 16, 2022 |
| Tip-off: | 7:30 p.m. ET |
| TV: | TSN, YES |
Nets vs Raptors key injuries
