Cleveland Cavaliers vs Toronto Raptors betting tips and predictions for Sunday’s NBA game on ESPN. Two of the most pleasant surprises in the Eastern Conference this season will square off for their 3rd meeting of the year as the Cleveland Cavaliers host the Toronto Raptors. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
- Start date: 06.03.2022 at 7:30 PM
- Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Cavaliers
Things have slowed down a bit for the Cleveland Cavaliers following the all-star break as they’ve gone 1-4 SU during that stretch. They’ve now dropped to 6th in the Eastern Conference standings, 2.5 games back of the Chicago Bulls who hold the 4th spot.
Not having Rajon Rondo and Caris LeVert for some of those games has certainly played a factor, but the Cavs are still exceeding expectations even if they finish 6th at the end of the season. Prior to this poor run, the Cavs were the league’s most consistent team against the spread, but they’ve now gone just 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games.
Against Eastern Conference opponents they are only 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games, which is concerning. To make matters worse, Toronto has had the upper hand in head-to-head meetings as well by beating them in 6 of the last 10 games.
Toronto Raptors
Similarly to the Cavaliers, the Raptors are also struggling after the all-star break with 2 losses in a row. Losing 2 games in itself isn’t a big deal, but when those 2 games are against Orlando and Detroit then there’s reasons to be upset if you’re a Toronto fan.
The team’s only all-star this season Fred VanVleet is doubtful for tonight’s game with a knee issue, while OG Anunoby has been lost for an extended period of time as he treats his finger injury. Toronto is just 5-6 SU in 11 games without VanVleet this season, so their record of 8 wins in 12 meetings with the Cavs might not even matter if he doesn’t take the court tonight.
Raptors have covered the spread in 7 of their last 10 games on the road, for the season they are one of the better teams away from home covering the spread in 18 of 31 games.
With the uncertainty of VanVleet I am opting to go with the Cavs here. After all they are 18-12 ATS at home this season and they’ve won 19 of 30 games at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Back the home team to cover.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Toronto Raptors Predictions & Odds
Scoring has been up for Cavaliers games lately, mainly because their defense has been non-existent in the last 3 games. They are near the bottom of the league in points allowed per game over the last 3 games with opponents scoring 123.7 per game against them.
I’m expecting that number to go down a bit tonight as they are facing a Raptors squad that’s scoring just 104 per game over their last 3, with injuries decimating their offensive output. In the 2 meetings already played earlier this season the Raptors have scored just 101 and 99 points, so I’m expecting something similar in tonight’s game if VanVleet doesn’t suit up.
In Toronto’s last 7 of 9 games overall the total has gone under and in their last 5 of 7 vs Eastern Conference teams that’s also been the case. Cleveland has been notorious for going under the total at home this season – their record stands at 8-21-1 entering tonight’s game, so there’s a pretty good chance we go in that direction here as well.
With these 2 teams ranking 26th and 28th in pace of play, the logical conclusion is to go with the under here.
