- 1 LA Clippers vs Toronto Raptors: a four-game losing streak meets the league’s stingiest defense
- 2 LA Clippers: four straight losses and five rotation players in street clothes
- 3 Toronto Raptors: a top-ranked defense now running through Barnes
- 4 Free NBA Prediction: LA Clippers vs Toronto Raptors
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
LA Clippers vs Toronto Raptors: a four-game losing streak meets the league’s stingiest defense 
Kawhi Leonard won’t be on the floor at Intuit Dome on Monday night. The Raptors forward, traded by the Clippers in a deal agreed on June 30 and only completed on September 14 after an NBA hold, is out with swelling in his left knee, and the latest timeline has him sidelined for at least three to four weeks.
That removes the obvious storyline from a game that tips off at 10:00pm ET on Monday 2 November. It doesn’t remove much from Toronto’s chances, because the Raptors have looked like the better-organized team through the first ten days of the season while Leonard has played in only two of their five games.
Toronto is 3-2. It beat Chicago 135-92 and Orlando 129-99 at home, won 112-102 in Washington, then lost 117-94 in Minnesota and 121-114 to Orlando on Friday, an NBA Cup group game in which Scottie Barnes scored a career-high 41 points. Through four games the Raptors were holding opponents to 102.5 points a night, the lowest figure in the league.
The Clippers are heading the other way. They opened with a 121-96 win over Sacramento and have lost four straight since: by eight at the Lakers, seven at Oklahoma City, 16 at home to the Lakers and 26 in Minnesota on Friday. They’re scoring 105.4 points a game, and through four games only one team in the league was averaging fewer.
The schedule adds a layer. Both teams play on Sunday, Toronto at the Lakers and the Clippers at Golden State, so each arrives on the second night of a back-to-back. The Raptors stay in Los Angeles overnight, while the Clippers have to get back from San Francisco after a game at Chase Center.
LA Clippers: four straight losses and five rotation players in street clothes 
Ty Lue is working with a short roster. Brandon Ingram, who came over in the Leonard trade, has a partially torn Achilles that was found after heel surgery and isn’t expected back before around November 8. Max Strus (a partial plantar fascia tear in his right foot, suffered in the preseason opener on October 4), Bradley Beal (knee) and Yanic Konan Niederhauser (foot) share a similar return window, and Jordan Miller is out until March after rotator cuff surgery.
That leaves Darius Garland carrying most of the creation. Acquired from Cleveland in the February deal that sent James Harden the other way, Garland is averaging 22.0 points and 6.2 assists on 46.1% shooting. He had 24 in Minnesota on Friday, but it took him 22 shots and he turned the ball over five times.
Behind him the scoring is thin. Rookie Keaton Wagler, the No. 5 pick, is putting up 15.0 points a game on 31.6% from the field, and he went 2 for 11 against the Timberwolves. Brook Lopez has been the most efficient option at 14.0 points on 58.3% shooting and 46.2% from three through four games, while Rui Hachimura returned from left quad soreness on Friday and scored 12.
The defense has held up far better than the offense. Through four games LA ranked 7th in defensive rating at 107.6 points per 100 possessions, but its offensive rating of 106.1 sat 28th, and that gap explains the losing streak. Minnesota, playing without Anthony Edwards, still put 69 points on the Clippers in the first half on Friday.
Home court hasn’t helped. The Clippers are 1-1 at Intuit Dome, and the loss there was a 103-87 defeat to the Lakers on October 28 in a game they went into as 1.5-point favorites.
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Toronto Raptors: a top-ranked defense now running through Barnes 
Toronto’s defensive numbers are the main reason I’d side with them. Through four games the Raptors had the league’s best defensive rating at 98.2 and its best net rating at +14.4, all while playing at the second-fastest pace. They’re forcing mistakes too, with 12.4 steals per game, and turning them into points going the other way.
Barnes has become the focal point with Leonard out. He’s averaging 24.0 points and 6.8 rebounds and shooting 94.4% from the line after Friday’s 41-point night, when he went 19 of 34 from the field. RJ Barrett is close behind at 22.0 points a game on 50.7% shooting, though only 22.2% from three.
Immanuel Quickley runs the offense, with 17.5 points and 5.5 assists through four games, and he added 17 points, eight assists and six rebounds against Orlando on Friday. Ja’Kobe Walter has started in Leonard’s spot and is hitting 40.7% of his threes, which gives Darko Rajakovic one reliable shooter on the wing.
The weak spot is the three-point line at both ends. Toronto shot 30.4% from deep across its first four games, and on Friday Orlando went 18 of 34 from three against it. A Clippers team making 39.0% of its threes could hurt the Raptors if Lopez and Gradey Dick get clean looks.
Leonard’s absence also thins the frontcourt depth. He played twice before the knee flared up, scoring 23 against Chicago and 16 in Washington. Nate Bittle (foot) has an estimated return date of November 2, so his status won’t be clear until closer to tip-off.
Probable lineup LA Clippers: Not announced at time of publication
Probable lineup Toronto Raptors: Not announced at time of publication
Free NBA Prediction: LA Clippers vs Toronto Raptors
Our prediction: Toronto Raptors to win
Toronto has the better defense, the healthier rotation and the more productive lead scorer, even without Leonard. The Clippers have lost four in a row, ranked 28th in offensive rating through four games and will be missing Ingram, Strus and Beal again on Monday.
The case for the home team rests on the three-point line, where LA has shot 39.0% and Toronto has been exposed. Both teams are on the second night of a back-to-back, so fatigue doesn’t tilt it, and the Raptors at least don’t have to travel on Monday.
Last season the Clippers won both meetings, 121-117 in overtime in Toronto on January 16 and 119-94 at home on March 25, but Harden and Leonard scored 31 and 27 in those games and neither plays for LA now. Lines hadn’t been posted at the time of writing, and we’d take Toronto on the moneyline at 1.50 or longer.
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