Portland Trail Blazers vs Toronto Raptors Prediction, 1/8/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Portland Trail Blazers vs Toronto Raptors

Date: Sunday, January 8, 2023

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: TSN

Odds/Point Spread: Portland (+4)

The Toronto Raptors are welcoming the Portland Trail Blazers at Scotiabank Arena on Sunday. Toronto is 4-point favorites from oddsmakers. The total is set at 226.5.

The Trail Blazers faced off with the Pacers and ended up losing by a score of 108-99 in their last game. With respect to fouls, the Trail Blazers ended up finishing with 19 while the Pacers totaled 22 fouls. They knocked down 7 out of their 25 tries from distance. Indiana finished the game at 89.3% at the charity stripe by knocking down 25 of their 28 attempts. On top of that, Indiana pulled down 41 rebounds (4 offensive, 37 defensive) and had 1 block. Indiana recorded 22 dimes and had 11 steals in this contest. Pertaining to the defense, Portland allowed 45.2% from the floor on 38 out of 84 shooting. They also doled out 30 assists for the game while creating 12 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In regard to hauling in boards, they collected 52 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Trail Blazers buried 14 of 17 attempts for a rate of 82.4%. Portland finished the game having earned a 40.4% FG percentage (38 of 94) and converted 9 out of their 33 shots from distance.

Anfernee Simons is someone who played a role in this game. Simons finished the contest at 35.0% from the field and recorded 4 assists. He played for 41 mins played and grabbed 3 boards. He racked up 20 points on 7 of 20 shooting.

Get all of our NBA Picks Today

Portland enters this matchup with a record of 19-19 on the campaign. They are turning it over 15.6 times per game and as a squad are committing 20.7 fouls per game. As a team, Portland is collecting 43.4 rebounds per contest and has tallied 925 assists so far this season, which is 25th in the league in terms of passing the ball. The Trail Blazers are connecting on 37.9% on 3-pointers (481 of 1,268) and 77.2% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 112.4 pts per contest (19th in the league) while going 47.6% from the floor.

When they are on the defensive end, the Trail Blazers are able to force 13.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 21.7 fouls. They are 10th in the NBA in giving up assists with 960 conceded this year. The Trail Blazers defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 47.2% (1,558 of 3,302) and they surrender 41.4 boards per game as a group. They surrender 35.8% from 3-point land while they are 12th in the league in PPG allowed (111.9).

In their last game, the Raptors took a loss by a score of 112-108 when they faced the Knicks. The Raptors pulled down 34 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 46 for the contest. They also gave up possession 7 times, while getting 7 steals in this matchup. The Knicks had 23 personal fouls in this game which took the Raptors to the charity stripe for 35 attempts. They were able to convert 28 of those for a percentage of 80.0%. With regard to shots from beyond the arc, Toronto made 10 out of their 29 attempts (34.5%). When the final whistle was blown, the Raptors finished 35 out of 83 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 42.2%. The Raptors permitted the Knicks to bury 39 of their 83 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 47.0% for this game. They shot 43.2% from beyond the arc by going 16 out of 37 and ended up shooting 18 of 26 at the free throw line (69.2%). Regarding rebounds, Toronto allowed New York to snag 51 in total (13 on the offensive side).

Fred VanVleet was important for the Raptors in this game. He knocked down 9 out of 21 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 42.9%, and earned 8 rebounds. VanVleet totaled 28 points in his 41 mins on the court and earned 7 assists in this contest.

Toronto has a mark of 16-23 on the year. In terms of offensive execution, the Raptors are connecting on 44.7% from the floor, which is 28th in basketball. Toronto has accounted for 4,330 points on the campaign (111.0 per game) and they pull in 42.5 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 22.7 times per game (26th in basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.2 times per game. The Raptors have committed 20.6 fouls per game and they hit 79.4% from the charity stripe.

The Raptors on the defensive side of the court are 11th in basketball in PPG given up with 111.3. They are forcing their opponents into 17.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 48.6% from the field (27th in basketball). The Toronto defense gives up 36.5% on shots from beyond the arc (483 of 1,322) and opponents are connecting on 79.6% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 26.0 assists and 43.4 boards every game, which is ranked 26th and 14th in the NBA.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Portland (+4)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here