The Cleveland Cavaliers will go on the road to open the 2024-25 NBA season when they face the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. Cleveland lost to Boston in the playoffs last year, and it hired new head coach Kenny Atkinson in the offseason. Toronto enters the campaign in rebuilding mode after going 25-57 last year, missing the postseason. The Cavaliers won two of the three meetings between these teams last year, but they split their two games in Toronto.
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena. The Cavaliers are favored by 6.5 points in the latest Raptors vs. Cavaliers odds, while the over/under is 225.5 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Cavaliers vs. Raptors picks, you’ll want to see the NBA predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in betting profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past six seasons. The model ended the 2023-24 season on a sizzling 94-61 roll on all top-rated NBA picks, returning more than $2,800 in the process. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Cleveland-Toronto. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several NBA betting lines for the game:
- Raptors vs. Cavaliers spread: Cavaliers -6.5
- Raptors vs. Cavaliers over/under: 225.5 points
- Raptors vs. Cavaliers money line: Cavaliers -242, Raptors +198
- Raptors vs. Cavaliers picks: See picks here
- Raptors vs. Cavaliers streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why the Raptors can cover
Toronto has completely moved on from its core that won the 2019 NBA Finals, opting to build around a young group of players. The Raptors handed five-year contract extensions to Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley, while RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl round out their core. They outscored opponents by 65 points in 234 minutes when they were all on the court together last season.
Barrett averaged 21.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game last year, but he is going to miss this game due to a shoulder injury. Barnes and Quickley each averaged more than 18 points per game, while Poeltl pulled down a team-high 8.6 rebounds per game. Toronto is 9-2 in its last 11 home games against Cleveland, including one win last year. See which team to pick here.
Why the Cavaliers can cover
Cleveland is hungry to get back on the court after losing to Boston in the playoffs last year, and its offensive potential is even higher after hiring Atkinson. He was brought in to take the Cavaliers to the next level with a new offensive approach. They are led by star guards Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, along with big men Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
They are all signed to long-term deals with Cleveland that will keep them together for at least the next few seasons. Injuries have kept them from reaching their full potential in previous seasons, but they are healthy coming into the campaign. Toronto went 2-18 in its final 20 games last year, covering the spread just five times in its final 17 games. See which team to pick here.
How to make Raptors vs. Cavaliers picks
The model has simulated Cavaliers vs. Raptors 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Under, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 60% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Raptors vs. Cavaliers, and which side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Cavaliers vs. Raptors spread you need to jump on, all from the model that was on a 94-61 roll on top-rated NBA picks last season, and find out.
