NBA Betting Picks: Toronto Raptors at Charlotte Bobcats

Added on Feb 22, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

NBA

Not surprising for a guy that goes 6'7" 240 and was a monster during his NBA career, but Paul Silas still looks like a guy who could turn your lights out...

Sportsbooks will be back in the NBA betting business tonight with the conclusion of the All Star Break and we’ll take a look at an Eastern Conference matchup between the Toronto Raptors and Charlotte Bobcats. Charlotte has shown some improvement since Paul Silas took over as head coach, while Toronto is mired in the Atlantic Division basement.

Toronto Raptors at Charlotte Bobcats
February 22, 2011 4:05 PM Pacific

The All Star Break couldn’t have come at a better time for the reeling Toronto Raptors, but now that it’s over it remains to be seen if some rest was all that this team needed. We doubt it–the struggles of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the post LeBron James era have received all of the media attention but Toronto is essentially in the same boat after losing Chris Bosh. The Raptors may not have lost as many games consecutively as Cleveland but they’ve struggled bigtime–heading into the All Star Break they’d lost 16 of 18 SU going 7-11 ATS. They’ve won only 5 games SU on the road this season though their ATS record away from the Air Canada Centre is a respectable 12-14. This is one of their worst ATS roles however–as a road underdog of 6′ to 9 points they’re 0-9 SU/2-5-2 ATS.

Bobcats have won and covered both meetings this season including a 101-96 win in Toronto in November. Raptors have been awful in revenge situations this year, so that’s not a consideration in our handicap–in revenge spots they’re 7-28 SU/13-22 ATS. That’s one area where they differ greatly from Cleveland–even at the Cavs’ nadir you never got the vibe that they’d quit on the season despite having every reason to do so. The Raptors seriously look like they don’t care on most nights. The Bobcats are still trying to find their way in Silas’ new uptempo style but it’s really a better fit for the talent on hand. They’re also in the thick of the postseason hunt, trailing the Indiana Pacers by a single game for the #8 spot in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte covered 4 of their L6 before the break and have played hard for Silas on most nights. They should respond to management’s decision to take the ‘interim’ tag off their well liked coach and give him the full time gig. Bobcats win and cover here.

Bet Charlotte Bobcats -7 over Toronto Raptors