Raptors vs Thunder | When the Toronto Raptors visit the Paycom Center on Friday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder will aim to snap a four-game losing streak.
The pregame storyline: OG Anunoby has recently given some of his greatest performances, and it doesn’t seem random. While Gary Trent Jr. should be able to create some noise on the glass, we are concerned about Scottie Barnes’ scoring consistency.
Over 30.5 P+R+A for Anunoby (-106)
In most cases, replacing an injured star requires a team effort. However, it appears that no player has carried a more increased workload than Anunoby in Pascal Siakam’s absence.
Take a look at how Anunoby’s usage and output have changed as a result of Siakam’s groyne injury:
Anunoby doesn’t completely occupy Siakam’s position because he is more of a wing player than a genuine striker. However, it’s obvious that he has been given more minutes and chances to make up for the all-star-sized gap.
The previous time they played, Anunoby equaled a season-best with 27 points and first time this year, 10 rebounds. The NBA’s top stealer (3.1 per game) frequently creates opportunities for himself in transition for both baskets and assists.
Since Oklahoma City allows 114 points per game, which ranks 18th in the NBA, Anunoby should have opportunities to score more points. The Thunder are the only team that allows more rebounds.
short picks
Barnes under 16.5 points (-121):
Raptors vs Thunder | Barnes hasn’t been a reliable scorer thus far this season, to be honest.
The current Rookie of the Year averages 14.2 points per game but has failed to reach this mark in eight of her last 11 games. That comprises four of his most recent five.
On the road, Barnes’ scoring difficulties are even worse. He is coming off a five-point performance disaster in Chicago on Monday and is averaging 11.8 points when playing outside of Scotiabank Arena.
Trent over 2.5 rebounds (-112):
Given that the Thunder rank 27th in rebound rate (47.8%) and surrender the most rebounds per game (50.8), we couldn’t leave you without a rebounding prop.
We’ll support Trent to clear his line because there are so many rebounds practically up for grabs. Although he barely grabs 2.0 rebounds per game on average, over his last five games, he has at least three boards in three of them.
He has a good matchup against OKC and should once more grab three or more rebounds.