The Brooklyn Nets battle the Toronto Raptors, seeking an upset amid a losing streak. Can Brooklyn's offense ignite against a struggling Toronto squad?
It’s the same old story with the local hoopsters in Brooklyn.
That’s what sports headline writers inside at some of the most popular tabloids in New York must be thinking in anticipation when the home underdog Nets (7-19) host the Toronto Raptors (17-12) at Barclays Center Sunday night.
Brooklyn (-140) on the moneyline to pull off the upset, while Toronto is (-160) to send backers to the cash window.
The over/under total for the 6:00 p.m. (ET) tip-off is 216.5 (o -110, u -110).
The Nets, on a five-game losing streak and just 3-11 at home, which includes a loss to the Miami Heat Thursday night, are diving into a tough stretch of their schedule. -After a 4-2 start to December in which new starting point guard Egor Demin excelled at running the point and setting his teammates up, the Nets are going south quickly.
However, some times a deep dive into the numbers doesn’t tell the full story as the Nets, a respectable 4-6 in their last 10 games thanks to a solid start to December and averaging 109.3 points during the same stretch, have reverted somewhat to some of their same habits- including in their most recent loss: a 106-95 setback vs. Miami, in which the Nets shot 9-of-28 (32%) from 3-point range.
Brooklyn also stood around plenty of offense- which stalled their opportunities to score, if not for Nic Claxton’s work around the rim (16 points, 12 points) and Michael Porter Jr.’s ability to score (24 points) despite a poor shooting night.
Toronto, fifth in Eastern Conference despite a 112-96 defeat in Boston last night, is 3-7 in their last 10 games and will be playing in a back-to-back.
Rookie Drake Powell (high ankle sprain), Haywood Highsmith (knee) and Ben Saraf (illness) are out for the Nets.
RJ Barrett (knee sprain) is out and Jakob Poeltl (back) is questionable for Toronto.
Despite being one of the NBA’s better teams, the Raptors, just 3-7 in their last 10 games, have struggled in recent weeks, including Saturday night when they were run off the floor by the Celtics.
However, still a very good road team at 9-5, this could very well be a nice bounce back spot for the Raptors, a relatively short favorite against a Nets team that might be getting a little bit more respect than deserved - solely based on a nice December run.
And the line here reflects full trust in Toronto- despite their recent overall play.
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Fernie Ruano, a sports analyst and content provider in Miami, contributed to this report.