The Toronto Raptors (23-11) visit the Miami Heat (24-9) Thursday at AmericanAirlines Arena for a 7:30 p.m. ET tip-off. The Heat and Raptors occupy third and fourth place in the Eastern Conference, respectively. We analyze the Raptors-Heat odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
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Raptors at Heat: Key Injuries
Raptors
- C Marc Gasol (hamstring) out
- SG Norman Powell (shoulder) out
- PF Pascal Siakam (groin) out
- SG Matt Thomas (finger) out
- C Dewan Hernandez (ankle) out
Heat
- PG Justise Winslow (back) out
Raptors at Heat: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at noon ET.
Prediction
Heat 107, Raptors 99
Moneyline (ML)
The injury-riddled Raptors (+170) have gone 2-3 over their last five games after having a five-game winning streak snapped Dec. 23. They most recently beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-97 on New Year’s Eve and they had Wednesday off. They’re 9-6 on the road. The Heat (-209) enter Thursday 15-1 on home court for the season. They had a five-game win streak snapped in a 123-105 road loss to the Washington Wizards in their most recent game, Monday.
Miami will take this fairly comfortably as the home and healthier team, but there’s too much chalk involved in the moneyline play. A $10 bet on the Heat to win returns a profit of $4.78. PASS and play the spread instead.
Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
Get better value on the home side by backing the HEAT (-5.5, -106) to win by at least 6 points. Miami is 19-12 against the spread overall and 11-4 on home court while Toronto is 20-14 ATS overall but just 8-7 on the road. The Heat claimed a 121-110 overtime win over the Raptors Tuesday, Dec. 3, in their only head-to-head meeting of the season.
Over/Under (O/U)
Take the UNDER 215.5 (-125) with both sides entering play off of at least one day of rest and able to put forth a full defensive effort. The Raptors have held their last three opponents below 100 points and the two sides combine to allow 214.1 points per game on the year.
Esten’s NBA betting record: 118-90
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