The first round of the NBA Playoffs continues on Wednesday night and we will see Brooklyn Nets travel north of the border to take on the Toronto Raptors in game 5 of their best-of-seven series. The game has a start time of 7:30 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on NBATv. Vegas odds have the Raptors listed as 3.5 point favorites, while the total sits at 191.
Stat Packs: The Brooklyn Nets were the sexy pick by many to take this series from the Raptors and after game 1 it looked even better for them, but then the young Raptors have stepped up to take 2 of the next 3 games to even the series at 2-2. The scene shifts back to Toronto and the Nets have gone just 17-26 on the road this year. The Nets averaged just 98.5 ppg on the year overall, and it has been worse in the playoffs, where they have put up just 92.5 ppg so far. In the Playoffs, Joe Johnson has led the team in scoring with 19.5 ppg, while Deron Williams (17.8 ppg) and Paul Pierce (15.5 ppg) round out the double digit scorers on the team. On the defensive end of the floor the Nets have been solid this, as they have allowed just 99.4 ppg overall, and have been solid in the playoffs as well, allowing just 93 ppg to the Raptors thus far.
The Toronto Raptors came in as the 3rd seed in the East and are right now tied at 2 games apiece with the 6th seeded Brooklyn Nets. The Raptors have gone a solid 27-16 SU at home this year and they are 23-11-1 ATS in their last 35 games off an ATS win. During the regular season, Toronto ranked 13th in scoring (101.3 ppg) and in shooting 22nd in shooting (44.5%), but so far vs the Nets they have scored just 93 ppg on 43.6% shooting they hit their threes at a 37.2% clip (9th) and their free throws as a 78.2% clip (5th). In the playoffs it has been DeMar DeRozan that has led the team in scoring at 24.5 ppg, while Kyle Lowry (18.3 ppg) and Jonas Valanciunas (12.0 ppg) round out the top 3 scorers for the team. Jonas has also leads the team in rebounding at 8.8 rpg. The Raptors ranked 7th in the league in points allowed this year (98 ppg) and have been very tough vs the Nets so far, allowing them just 92.5 ppg.
Pick: Another series that is tied at 2 games a piece and I will look at the Under here as well. Neither team has been that much of an offensive force in this series, as the Raptors have scored just 93 ppg on 43.6% shooting, while the Nets have put up just 92.5 ppg on 44.6% shooting. That translates into a series where just 195.5 ppg have been scored and games 5's do tend to be a bit lower scoring than the other games. The Raptors have allowed 98.6 ppg at home this year, but so far in this series road teams have scored just 93.5 ppg. The Nets have allowed 101.6 ppg on the road this year, but allowed the Raptors just 93.5 ppg on this floor in the first 2 games of this series. The Under is 5-2 the last games played here by these teams and I see that trend continuing with a game played in the lower 180s at best.
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