With just under two weeks left in the NBA regular season, the Raptors are locked in a tense battle for one of the final spots in the Eastern Conference playoff field.
And they’re well-positioned to pick up a win on Tuesday against the enigmatic Heat.
Miami has struggled to string together road wins all year long, boasting a 16-20 record against the spread (44.4 percent) with a 3-7 ATS mark over its last 10 such games.
The Heat have lost all seven of those games outright despite being favored in four, including straight-up losses to the Hornets, Magic, and Bulls over the last month.
Raptors vs. Heat prediction
(7:30 p.m. ET., TNT)
We’ve also seen a less prolific version of this team as of late, regardless of location.
After a sensational run in mid-March, star scorer Jimmy Butler (18 points) couldn’t sustain that pace in Saturday’s 29-point loss to the Nets — tied for this team’s worst loss of the entire season.
Meanwhile, the Raptors are (mostly) healthy and have found new life over the last two weeks, winning five of seven, with all of those wins coming by double digits.
This team has been especially hot at home, where it boasts a 23-16 ATS record on the year with a 7-2 ATS run since just before the All-Star break.
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With Scottie Barnes back in the fold on Tuesday, I’d expect an inspired effort from Toronto in a pivotal game for playoff seeding.
THE PLAY: Raptors +3 (BetMGM)