The Toronto Raptors and the Los Angeles Clippers will both be looking to bounce back with a win Monday night when these teams go head-to-head in the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. Toronto has lost their last two games. They lost their last contest in LA against the Lakers 131-125. Scottie Barnes scored 29 points to cover for Kawhi Leonard missing another game with an injury, but it was not enough to overcome 35 points from Luka Doncic. The Clippers have lost 5 straight games. Los Angeles could not beat the Golden State Warriors in their last game despite the Warriors being without Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler. Yaxel Lendeborg scored 37 points to sink the Clippers hopes.
With Kawhi Leonard remaining sidelined with an injury, we are missing the opportunity to see Leonard go against his former team. Despite the lost storyline, we should still be able to see the Raptors taking advantage of a Clippers team that is trying to find their identity and flow on offense. The Clippers are led by Darius Garland, who is averaging 20.8 points per game. Despite the solid scoring effort, Garland has not been able to take care of the basketball. He leads the team with 5.2 turnovers per game. He is contributing to the team’s total of 21 turnovers per game, which is the worst in the NBA. The Raptors have lost three of their last four since losing Leonard, but they have still been tough defensively. The Raptors scored 30 points off 24 turnovers against the Lakers in their last game. On offense, Barnes has stepped up in a big way, averaging 24.8 points in his last six games, and scoring a career high 41 points against the Magic. Although both teams have struggled, Toronto has shown more promise and appears better positioned to snap its losing streak.
Raptors vs Clippers prediction: Raptors -4.5 (-105) available at the time of publishing. Playable to Raptors -5 (-110).
