Raptors vs. Wizards NBA expert prediction and odds for Saturday, March 23 (How to bet total)
By Peter Dewey
The Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards are both struggling right now, but the Wizards are at least coming off a win on Thursday – just their 12th of the season.
Toronto is playing the second night of a back-to-back after losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. The Raptors were without all five starters (RJ Barrett, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl, Gary Trent Jr., and Immanuel Quickley) in that game, and they could be again tonight.
How should we bet on this matchup between two of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference?
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Let’s dive into the odds and my best bet for this matchup:
Raptors vs. Wizards odds, spread and total
Raptors vs. Wizards how to watch
- Date: Saturday, May 23
- Time: 8:00 p.m. EST
- Venue: Capital One Arena
- How to watch (TV): SportsNet CA, Monumental Sports Network
- Raptors record: 23-46*
- Wizards record: 12-58
Raptors vs. Wizards injury reports
Raptors injury report
- Not submitted yet
Wizards injury report
- Bilal Coulibaly – out
- Tyus Jones – out
- Isaiah Livers – out
- Euguene Omuruyi – out
- Jordan Poole – questionable
- Landry Shamet – out
Raptors vs. Wizards key players to watch
Toronto Raptors
Gary Trent Jr.: Before Toronto’s matchup on Friday, Trent was scoring the ball at a high rate, averaging 23.4 points on 41.2 percent shooting from 3 in his last five games. He ended up sitting out last night’s loss to Oklahoma City, but he could be back in action for this one. If he plays, Trent could be the No. 1 option if the Raptors sit their other four starters again tonight.
Washington Wizards
Kyle Kuzma: Kyle Kuzma went off for 31 points on 13-of-22 shooting in the upset win over the Kings, and he’s been great all season long, averaging 22.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. With Washington down a few rotation players, a lot falls on Kuzma’s shoulders tonight.
Raptors vs. Wizards prediction and pick
There’s too much talent out on both sides in this one, so I’m going to take the UNDER with the total still up over 230 points.
The Raptors have failed to clear this total in five straight games, and even if they get a player like Trent back in the lineup, I don’t think that changes much. Toronto scored just 103 points against OKC despite six players scoring in double figures and the team shooting 52.6 percent from the field.
Washington, on the other hand, has been an over machine because of its awful defense, but I don’t think Toronto has the talent healthy to take advantage of that. Overall, the OVER is 35-34-1 in the Wizards' games this season.
This is just too many points with so many rotation players sidelined.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.