2022 NBA Futures & Best Odds: Value Lies with the Raptors

April 4th is a big day in Ontario, Canada.

This is when Canada's most populous province will officially be open to commercial sportsbook competition. There will be numerous sportsbooks operating in Ontario, including BetMGM, Caesars, and DraftKings. The timing of this announcement couldn't be better, with so many great sporting events coming in the near future. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game is the night of April 4th, Major League Baseball's Opening Day follows later in the week, and the CFL season starts in early June.

With that in mind, let's take a deep dive into the Toronto Raptors—a dangerous, veteran team with the ability to make a deep run in the NBA playoffs.

2022 Toronto Raptors Betting Odds

Toronto Raptors To Win Eastern Conference +5000 (PointsBet)

The Raptors are flying under the radar in the Eastern Conference, but remain a great betting value to win it. This +5000 value on Toronto is based on their current sixth-place standing in the East, but they still remain just 4.5 games behind first-place Miami. The Raptors have the exact same record as the fifth-place Bulls and are just four games behind the Heat in the loss column.

Toronto has the perfect mix of veteran players and dynamic youth, all supported by the brilliant coaching of Nick Nurse. It's not that long ago that Toronto was celebrating the 2018-2019 NBA Championship, after defeating the Golden State Warriors in six games. The core group of Pascal Siakam (22.4 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 5.2 APG), OG Anunoby (17.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG), and Fred VanVleet (20.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 6.7 APG) remain from that team and serve as great leaders for talented newcomers such as rookie Scottie Barnes (15.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG). Toronto has also received a huge boost from 6-foot-9 forward Chris Boucher (9.3 PPG, 6.2 RPG), who has tallied four double-doubles in the month of March. In a short series, Boucher combines a defensive presence at the rim with sneaky three-point efficiency and a solid 77.4% free-throw percentage.

The Raptors are playing their best basketball of the season, carrying an 8-2 record over their last 10 games. Toronto has also won nine of its last 11 games and has fared well against other top teams in the conference this season. The Raptors are 3-0 against reigning NBA Champion Milwaukee, and are 2-1 with two overtime wins against the Heat. Nurse, the 2020 NBA Coach of the Year, is a fantastic strategist who excels at attacking an opponent's weakness in a short series.

The Raptors have the third-best defensive rating over the past two weeks, ranking ahead of conference foes Boston and Philadelphia. Combine that with Toronto's fourth-best three-point shooting percentage(38.5%) over the last month, and you have the perfect combination for a betting value in the upcoming NBA playoffs.

If the Raptors' +10000 value to win the NBA Title is too high for your liking, the +5000 value at PointsBet seems like the perfect price for a Toronto team flying under the public's radar in a wide-open Eastern Conference race.

This article is intended for entertainment purposes and adult users only. Call 1-800-GAMBLER if you have a gambling problem.