Posted on
3/21/2008 2:31:22 PM
NBA Basketball Betting Tips and Picks - Raptors vs. Cavaliers
By John Bunge
Fans of NBA betting get a possible playoff preview on Friday night when the Toronto Raptors take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Entering play on Thursday night the Cavaliers are fourth in the East, while Toronto sits 3.5 games back in fifth place. That’s unlikely to change down the stretch, so the Cavs and Raptors would meet up in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Raptors snapped a five-game losing streak and welcomed back Chris Bosh on Wednesday night in a 96-54 blowout win over Miami as a 19-point favorite. Bosh, who had missed Toronto’s last 10 games with a knee injury, was quiet in his return with eight points and eight rebounds. Anthony Parker and Andrea Bargnani each scored 14 points to lead Toronto in the easy victory.
Cleveland posted an impressive 89-73 win over Detroit as a 1.5-point home favorite on Wednesday night. LeBron James dropped 30 points on the Pistons to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Zydrunas Ilgauskas also had a solid game for Cleveland with 20 points and eight rebounds.
This will be the fourth time this season that Toronto and Cleveland go head to head. Cleveland holds a 2-1 edge straight-up in the previous three meetings, and the Cavaliers were also 2-1 ATS in those three games. The last time Cleveland faced Toronto, back in January, the Cavs pulled out a 93-90 win as a 4-point road dog.
King James unloaded on Toronto in the win with 39 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, while Bosh scored 23 points to lead the Raptors. Tip-off on Friday night is slated for 7:30 pm ET.
Elsewhere around the NBA on a busy Friday night, Philadelphia is at Orlando, Minnesota visits Indiana, Denver is at New Jersey, New York hosts Memphis, Washington travels to Miami, San Antonio welcomes Sacramento, the Clippers are in Portland, Seattle visits the Lakers, and the Houston Rockets are on the road to face the Golden State Warriors.
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