NBA Playoffs Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Raptors vs. Nets Game 4 (Sunday, Aug. 23)

Raptors vs. Nets Betting Odds

Odds as of Saturday evening and via DraftKings. Get up to a $1,000 sign-up bonus at DraftKings today or see more offers and reviews for the best online sportsbooks.

The Raptors look to complete the sweep against the Nets after a commanding 114-92 win on Friday. Will the Nets force this series to go to Game 5, or will the Raptors push the Nets to extinction?

Let's break it down.

Toronto Raptors

The Raptors may miss Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (knee), who is questionable for Game 4, but his potential absence should not impact them at all. They've been firing on all cylinders in this series, scoring 116.8 points per 100 possessions while giving up only 99.7 — a 17-point difference.

Toronto has cruised this series with a 55.8% effective field goal percentage (eFG%) while limiting Brooklyn to only a 48.0% eFG% and forcing turnovers on 15.1% of possessions. This gives the Raptors an opportunity to start games a little cold but turn on the burners to blow the Nets out in the long run as they force mistakes and take better shots.

The Raptors like to run and have been able to get out in transition 19.2% of the time, the most in the playoffs.

Brooklyn Nets

Joe Harris' absence looms large in this series.

Heading into Game 3, I wrote in-depth how he is the Nets' most efficient shooter, and when he's off the court Brooklyn's offense suffers. That was evident in Game 3: The Nets' eFG% was a paltry 43.2%, and they made only 32.0% of their 3-point attempts. That's not the way to beat this Raptors team.

The Nets won't get any reinforcements offensively for this game, either, as Jamal Crawford (hamstring) remains out.

Without Harris, it's much more difficult to space the floor, which doesn't allow Caris LeVert the same room to operate as a driver or as a facilitator. Additionally, Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot has regressed as he's assumed a larger role and the Raptors have been able to key on him — he scored only 10 points last game after posting totals of 17 and 26 over the prior two games.

The one bright spot has been Jarrett Allen's effort on the glass (14.6 rebounds per game in this series), but he has to step forward and be a bigger threat offensively. He did not have any registered shot attempts from the floor last game.

The Nets have been feisty and should give their max effort in this elimination game, but ultimately, this is too tough of a task for them.

Betting Analysis & Pick

Per Cleaning the Glass, the Raptors have covered the spread by an average of 7.3 points per game this series. Additionally, it's been profitable to fade teams that have had losing streaks of three or more games — a profile that applies to the Nets, who are down 0-3 in this series and actually lost their final game before the playoffs began.

You can trust the Raptors to take care of business and cover this spread. And while I also am tempted by the Nets' team under (102), I'll likely stick with a side.

THE PICK: Raptors -12.5

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