Portland Trail Blazers vs. Toronto Raptors Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 1/23/2022

Time: 6 p.m. ET

Venue: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON

Where to watch: SN, ROOT-SP+

WynnBet: Raptors -8

BetMGM: NL

Caesars: NL

Blazers: 19-26 (10th place, Western Conference)

Raptors: 22-21 (8th place, Eastern Conference)

Do we finally get to the point where we start to believe in the Portland Trail Blazers?

It really shouldn't be that black and white after winning three out of four, but here we are seeing the shorthanded Blazers win games that we thought were impossible about two weeks ago.

But in this stretch, the Blazers are about to face their toughest test to this point when they visit the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. And while the Raptors may not be the world beaters that they once used to be, we have to understand that the Raptors are still one of the best defensive teams in the NBA.

And when you're trying to get points from anyone not named Damian Lillard, or at times CJ McCollum, you are facing an uphill climb that is deemed very difficult to make.

But we do have to give the Blazers credit for the way that they defeated the Boston Celtics on Friday. Jusuf Nurkic had 29 points and 17 rebounds, as well as the go-ahead bucket late in the fourth quarter, and McCollum finished with 24 points on 7 of 19 shooting.

There’s no doubt that this is the best stretch of play under coach Chauncey Billups, even if that means no Lillard in the lineup.

"We know we can get stops and get good shots, especially the way I was doubled, and that's what we did," Nurkic said. "I think on defense, we trusted each other probably the most in the whole season. I think that was probably the biggest key of the game."

With the limitations on offense, defense is going to have to be key for Portland going forward. Case in point, this is a team that just gave up 140 points to the Denver Nuggets on January 13th. There has to be this call for collective team defense when facing any team, but if the Blazers can put up an effort like they did against the likes of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum they're going to be in good shape.

But if there was a time to take advantage of Toronto in its current state, now would be the time. The Raptors are coming off a four-point victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday in which the Raptors blew an 18-point lead and nearly lost the game.

Fred VanVleet hit the go-ahead 3 pointer in the final minute and his 21 points were part of a gigantic effort from the Raptors offense. Scottie Barnes had a career high 27 points in what was a coming-out party for the 4th overall pick in last summer's NBA draft.

"It was really just finding those easy spots where I could really just get to the rim," Barnes said.

But I don't believe that a one-game scenario is enough for me to say that the Raptors should not defeat the Trailblazers on Sunday. We have to remember that even without Lillard, Portland cannot keep this success up for very long.

There are going to be limitations. If Toronto finds a way to make shots, which given the personnel on that team they very much can and will, how will Portland respond? That is a question that has yet to be answered even with their franchise player on the floor.

Until Portland can start to generate some sort of consistency in their first year under Billups, there is no way that I can confidently trust Portland to win a game against a team that is much better than them. Raptors by 13

The Blazers are 6-14 ATS on the road this season.

The Blazers are 8-11 ATS after a road game.

The Raptors are 8-10 ATS off an under this season.

PG: Anfernee Simons

SG: CJ McCollum
SF: Nassir Little
PF: Robert Covington
C: Jusuf Nurkic

PG: Fred VanVleet

SG: Gary Trent Jr.
SF: OG Anunoby
PF: Scottie Barnes
C: Pascal Siakam

Blazers: Damian Lillard (abdomen, out), Norman Powell (personal, questionable), Larry Nance Jr. (knee, out)

Raptors: Khem Birch (nose, out)